Another Sprint Race Weekend in the books - and while this Sprint was a bit better than previous ones, it was still a Sprint Race that we think was totally unnecessary and un-needed.

Alpine has new investors - and we wonder what the play is here…

Teams are sending warnings about the work in progress rules for 2026

Once again we saw penalties handed out like candy on Halloween at the Austrian Grand Prix - and while we don’t disagree with why the penalties were issued, we also think that something needs to be done to prevent it from continuing to happening. If F1 is staying at the Red Bull Ring through 2030 then something definitely needs to be done.

Say goodbye to Scuderia Alpha Tauri, the team is going to be re-named for 2024.

Williams will celebrate their 800th race this coming weekend, while McLaren will sport a “retro” livery this weekend.

And just what is holding up Lewis Hamilton’s contract extension?

We’re back as F1 comes back for a fairly eventful race weekend in Montreal.

There was a helmet controversy (that probably shouldn’t have been a controversy), CCTV issues that rearranged Friday running, strategy concerns, questionable penalties, wiggly wings, lifting and coasting and a bird strike.

What happened to Imola’s trophies - sold at auction for charity.

And Jeremey Clarkson buys Alpine beer.

F1 returned to Monaco this past weekend, and while it brought us one of the best Qualifying sessions we’ve seen in years, it ultimately played out like an F1 race in Monaco.

Helmet Marco has decided - Alpha Tauri will not be sold, and isn’t moving out of Faenza.

Honda will be returning to F1 in 2026 - with Aston-Martin stepping in as their new “Works” team, and we wonder what this means for Fernando Alonso’s future with the team.

Did Ferrari approach Lewis Hamilton with a contract offer?

The Zero Side Pod design is dead! Long live the… Actually no, leave it in the trash bin….

Could George Russel have made it to the podium in Monaco this year?

Again we ask, could Monaco be better?

Mercedes is revamping it’s campus in Brackley

Losail Circuit has upgraded their facilities.

We were looking forward to watching a race in Imola this past weekend, and while we’re disappointed that the race was cancelled we agree with the decision to do so.

We’ve identified a new F1 job that at least one of us wants.

Martin Brundle was afraid he almost got Sir Jackie Stewart thrown out of the Miami GP.

The cancellation of this past weekend’s race may have an impact on several teams development plans.

Pirelli is introducing a new tire construction starting in Silverstone.

Daniel Ricciardo had a seat fitting at Alpha Tauri

Shanghai has renewed their Grade 1 Certification.

Due to some unplanned circumstances we’ve been gone for the past few weeks. We’re back this week but there won’t be a show next week.

It’s Miami Race Weekend - and we’ve pulled some Will Smith out of the archives to commemorate the weekend.

In F1 news:

Drivers have pushed for changes to Red Flag start procedures

Stefano Domenicali doesn’t want Sprints at ever race weekend, but he does want more Sprint Races.

LED light covers aren’t coming to F1.

Christian Horner has a new reason why F1 shouldn’t introduce new teams.

GM is now considering an F1 engine program.

Adrian Newey has extended his contract with Red Bull

There will be an Azerbaijan Grand Prix through 2026

The organizers of the Miami Grand Prix want to make the event a night race.

And once again, the United States provides an epic grid walk moment for Martin Brundle.

This week’s race was exhausting, but we think that the Stewards handled a challenging weekend well.

Despite what his defenders said, what Nelson Piquet said about Lewis Hamilton last year was wrong - and now he has a court judgement affirming that his comments were wrong.

Red Bull says that Daniel Ricciardo has picked up some bad habits in the years after he left the team.

The FIA has clarified what “working on the car” means

Teams have been told that they can’t climb the trackside debris fences to celebrate anymore.

The GPS feed to the Melbourne track went out during FP1, triggering a Red Flag due to several near misses.

George Russell didn’t think that the first of four Red Flags during Sunday’s race was necessary.

Pierre Gasly escapes a race ban after his collision with Esteban Ocon.

Carlos Sainz disagreed with his penalty after the second restart.

Max Verstappen pushed the limit on the second restart.

Haas protests the race results - and the Stewards reject the protest.

The organizers of the Australian GP are in a bit of trouble after fans invade the track before the race was officially over.

Porsche has officially ended their efforts to enter F1 - for now.

Penalties. We’ve seen races where there were more penalties handed out than we had this weekend, but we had a lot to talk about this week when it came to penalties and the impacts they had on the weekend.

Haas categorically denies allegations made by PBS Newshour that they have violated US trade sanctions against Russia.

The FIA has revised how they will assess super license penalty points.

Drivers and team personnel will no longer be able to take bikes, scooters or any other wheeled vehicle out during track walks.

After a second weekend where a driver got a penalty for not properly starting from their grid box followed by a second penalty for not serving the first penalty properly at least one of us is frustrated.

Several teams appear to be in trouble - and it’s only race 2.

Race 1 is in the books and so is the first week of the Fantasy GP League. You can still sign up by going to www.fantasygp.com and entering the league code of 14831491.

Race 1 was the first time that we’ve really gotten an idea of how the field is looking for the 2023 season- and what we can tell

Red Bull is still on top

Aston Martin is looking very strong

Ferrari still has some bugs to work out

Mercedes already seems to be in trouble in ways we’ve never seen before.

McLaren is definitely in trouble too.

F1 is getting ready to tweak qualifying again.

Before we start, a reminder that the Bloke a Bird Show Fantasy GP League is setup and ready for the 2023 season. Head over to www.fantasygp.com and use the league code 14831491

The F1 paddock appears to be pushing for any potential new team to pay a $600m dilution fee.

Could Alpha Tauri be going up for sale?

Lance Stroll has suffered a bicycle accident while training and was unable to participate in Winter Testing and potentially will be replaced by Felipe Drugovich for the Bahrain GP.

Mercedes says that they’re in a better place at the end of testing with the W14 than they were on Day 2 - but they still appear to be off the pace.

Warning bells are sounding at McLaren after the team failed to meet their development targets before testing and still appear to be on the back foot.

Haas has debuted a scaled down pit wall structure that is rumored to have saved them $250,000.

Who will be commentating the US and British F1 broadcasts this year?

New wet tires will appear starting in Imola.

There’s details on the calendar and format for the F1 Academy series.

And we share our predictions for 2023

The 2023 F1 season starts really soon - and we’ve activated the Bloke and A Bird Show Fantasy GP League for 2023. To sign up just head over to www.fantasygp.com and when you join the league you’ll need the league code 14831491.

The FIA has released a clarifying statement on their Guidance on the Principle of Neutrality (Article 12.2.1.n of the ISC). Things are a little clearer but we still think that this is going to be an issue this year.

Ferrari laid it all out with their 2023 car reveal in Maranello, starting the car up and conducting the shakedown of the car in front of fans and the media.

Mercedes has debuted their 2023 car - and it’s naked… Naked carbon fiber. Mercedes has also retained their Zero Sidepod design - for now…

Aston-Martin’s 2023 challenger appears to have been inspired by Ferrari’s bathtub design, until you get to the back of the tub.

And we don’t have much to say about the new Alpine.

Reliability upgrades - are they performance upgrades?

The FIA gets a lot of money from entry fees.

And pre-season testing is at the end of this coming week.

We’re back and we have less than 1 month before the start of the 2023 Formula 1 season!

We will be launching the Bloke & The Bird Show Fantasy GP League again - and if you act now by going over to FantasyGP.com they’re currently offering 30% off their Pro memberships.

Car reveals that we’ve had so far this year:

• Wiliams

• Alfa Romeo

• Red Bull

• Haas

• Alpha Tauri

What we have learned from those reveals - Gulf has returned but with Williams, the Alpha Tauri logo on their new car reminds us of a snail, Red Bull appears to have not made a single change to their livery…. Oh, and Ford is coming back to F1!

That’s right, Ford has entered into a partnership with Red Bull Racing that will see the manufacturer return to F1 for the first time since 2004. This won’t be a full power unit supply deal, but it is expected to be more than a simple badging exercise.

Six manufacturers have registered with the FIA to supply power units to F1 - but only 5 of them appear to actually have a team that will use their power units.

The FIA has formally opened the process for new teams to join the F1 grid - and Gunther Steiner continues to lash out at the prospect of any new team joining the series.

Mohammed Ben Sulayem is stepping back from day to day leadership of the F1 series - and we’re pretty sure that the teams aren’t disappointed with this change.

And Las Vegas is likely to be on the F1 calendar for the next 10 years.

We’re back and there was some big news in F1 - but if you follow F1 you might not realize it…

Andretti Autosport has partnered with Cadillac on an entry for F1 - and the F1 world mostly shrugged at the announcement - and we have to ask why?

Mohammed Ben Sulayem is defending the FIA’s rule change on political statements - and we still question the decision.

Pat Symonds has delayed his retirement.

Toto Wolff is expecting that a new contract with Lewis Hamilton we be sorted soon.

James Vowles is the new Team Principal at Wiliams.

We’re getting closer to the start of the 2023 season as more teams announce launch dates.

Drive to Survive returns on February 24.

And Silverstone wants to expand their race weekend.

Our first show of the New Year and we’ve got a bit of catching up to do.

While we were going there was a surprisingly coordinated Team Principal shift. Frederick Vasseur goes from Alfa Romeo to Ferrari, Andreas Seidl goes from McLaren to Alfa Romeo, Andrea Stella is promoted at McLaren to replace Andreas, and Jost Capito leaves Williams.

Mick Schumacher is the new Reserve Driver at Mercedes

Alpine thinks they know the biggest cause of their reliability issues.

McLaren says that the new tires were a bigger challenge for them than they expected.

We understand a bit more about Mercedes struggles last year.

Aston Martin, Ferrari, and Alpha Tauri are the first teams to announce car reveals.

The FIA is banning drivers from making unapproved political statements.

Could Ford be partnering with Red Bull for an F1 return?

Could the Chinese GP return to the calendar this year?

We’re back to wrap up the 2022 season, we’ll have a show this week, but it’s up in the air if we’ll have a show next week before our end of year break.

Congratulations to Patricia for her victory in the 2022 Bloke and Bird Show Fantasy GP League!

There was some news while we were gone:

Mattia Binotto has resigned as Team Principle at Ferrari effect at the end of the year.

Audi is investing in their Competence Center Motorsport as they begin work on their upcoming partnership with Sauber F1.

McLaren and Gulf will not be continuing their partnership into 2023

The FIA is dropping several COVID policies for the 2023 season. They’re also dropping the 2023 Chinese Grand Prix.

It’s confirmed that there will be 6 Sprint Races in 2023, and teams will be getting an extra $300m added to their cost caps to account for the added races.

DRS zones may get shorter in 2023 because the revised rules introduced in 2022 have had a positive impact on overtaking.

Jeddah has made some changes to the track that should make the circuit safer.

Zaandvort will continue to host the Dutch Grand Prix through 2025.

The FIA Prize Giving was held last week and there was an uncomfortable moment between Christian Horner and Mohammed Ben Sulayem during the presentation of the Constructors Championship Trophy.

Gunther Steiner has a new book that will be released in April.

And an 8 part documentary on Bernie Ecclestone might be coming to a screen near you.

Finally - we recap how we did with our predictions for the 2022 season.

[tap] [tap] [tap] - Is this thing on?

So we still do this podcasting thing… We know it’s been a while, but races in the America’s can be challenging for us from a timing perspective…

This week - Sprint Races… There’ll be 6 of them next year and we’re pretty sure we know where they’ll be held.

Changes in engine penalties could be coming in an effort to deter engine changes (which was the point of those penalties to begin with)

Could wheel arches coming to F1 cars in an attempt to cut down on spray?

F1 launches the F1 Academy series to provide women a path into the F1 development ladder - a series that is not a replacement for the W Series.

The paddock celebrates the retirement of Sebastian Vettel.

Despite winning the Drivers & Constructor’s Championships, it hasn’t been a great few weeks for Red Bull.

Nico Hulkenburg is back in F1 - replacing Mick Schumacher at Haas.

Daniel Ricciardo appears to be headed back to Red Bull - as a development driver.

Mattia Binotto may be headed out of Ferrari

Race winners are now getting medals.

And a new F1 Exhibition is coming to Madrid from March 24, to July 16.

Thanks to a wet weekend in Suzuka we’re able to continue our planned rant from last weekend - after we get past the latest news on the cost cap.

Three teams (not two like everybody is reporting) had cost cap violations, but only 1 appears to have actually spent more than allowed under the cost cap. Now, the FIA has a problem - how do they take appropriate action to demonstrate that teams must abide by the cost cap - without causing even more controversy.

After that we take F1’s rain delay rules to task, and this weekend was just a continuation of the mess that we saw last weekend and earlier this year. Even worse is that the rules don’t seem to think that the rules were supposed to do what they are actually written to do which lead to confusion at the end of the race.

On top of that, we again had a recovery vehicle on the track, with F1 cars on the track under Yellow Flag conditions, in heavy rain, at Suzuka… Where F1 last lost a driver, under very similar conditions.

This weekend, was not one of F1’s finest…

It’s been a few weeks, but WE’RE BACK!!! (try to contain your excitement). We were on vacation for a few weeks but after a few adventures we’re back.

We had a full lineup to talk about, and we didn’t even managed to get through all of it, so if we remember we might talk about some of the stuff we were going to talk about this week - next week.

What we talk about this week-

F1 has announced a 24 race calendar for 2023 - and as much as we love F1, we’re not so sure about this idea. Of those 24 races, there will 6 Sprint Races - again, an idea that we’re not so sure about.

Miami has announced that they’ll be keeping the fake harbor for next year’s race.

SkySports will continue to broadcast F1 in the UK through 2029 (and we believe also supply the English commentary for the World Feed)

We look at where the driver lineup sits for 2023.

Rumor has it that two teams exceeded the cost cap limits for 2021 - only by only a small bit, and another by a larger margin.

Alfa Romeo was fined for not following proper procedures for turning in their tires - and yelled it because it’s happened more than once.

We’re still talking about Lewis Hamilton’s jewelry, we shouldn’t be, but we still are.

We had more to talk about - but the show was so long we had to stop….

We know, scheduling our break to start just as F1 is coming out of their summer break but that’s just how the schedule’s aligned.

It the week since our last show a lot happened -

Audi announced that they will be F1’s newest engine constructor debuting in 2026. No word yet on who will be their customer team but Audi says that they’ll make a determination before the end of the year.

In what we’re sure is totally unrelated news - Sauber and Alfa Romeo announced that they will end their partnership at the end of 2023.

Otmar Szafnauer insists that there’s been no breakdown in the relationship between him and Fernando Alonso - given some of the things that we’ve heard over the last week from the two of them, and some of the things that were being said this weekend - we’re not so sure that there hasn’t been a falling out.

We’re waiting to hear the results of the Contract Resolution Board.

McLaren has paved the way for Oscar Piastri to join the team after announcing that they were releasing Daniel Ricciardo at the end of the 2022 season.

Could Pierre Gasley be headed to Alpine? Esteban Ocon says that there’s no bad blood between the two of them anymore.

Spa gets a 1 year contract extension.

Mercedes didn’t have a great weekend - which might have been due to the special livery that they didn’t really run on race day.

It seems the stewards are back to excusing lap 1 incidents.

Ferrari continues to fall behind.

And F1 will not be returning to Russia (at least as long as Stefano Domenicali gets to make the call)

Between the time that we recorded last week’s show and the time we published last week’s show we were already out of date…

But, Formula has gifted us with one of, if not the silliest silly season that we’ve seen in a very, very long time.

Fernando Alonso will be taking Sebastian Vettel’s seat at Aston-Martin - to the surprise of Alpine, who is concerned that Fernando is too old….

Alpine has announced that Oscar Piastri will be taking Fernando Alonso’s seat - although Oscar has said otherwise. Rumor has it, Oscar has a deal with McLaren to take Daniel Ricciardo’s seat - although McLaren hasn’t confirmed anything.

There’s no controversy over Alex Albon’s seat - he’s got a multi-year deal with Williams.

It looks like the F1 Race in Las Vegas will be held the week before Thanksgiving for the next 5 years.

And Lewis Hamilton is a part owner of the Denver Broncos

We’re back for a show to close out the first half of the F1 season with news that’s surprising and not surprising - Sebastian Vettel has announced his retirement at the end of the season… And we recorded this before news broke this morning about his replacement.

Porsche looks to be on the verge of purchasing a 50% stake in Red Bull as part of it’s return to F1.

Ferarri continues to do what it can to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory and it’s drivers any chance of winning the championship.

And remember Rich Energy? They’re at it again….