That’s right, after just over six months, The Bloke and A Bird Show is back! We’re still settling in to our new studio and have a few bugs to work out - we’re sorry about the hum in this week’s episode, we’re going to spend some time over the next few days trying to figure out what that was so we can stop it.

This was a short show as we test out the podcasting rig and make sure everything is setup right again - and more than that we take aim at Sean Bratches and Liberty Media for F1 Fan Fest Chicago. Let’s just say we weren’t impressed with the “show” that Sean and his team put on at the event.

We have really big news this week. Charges are coming, and the show will be impacted. Listen this week for more information.

All that aside, in the news this week:

Vijay Mallya is one step closer to potentially being extradited back to India.

McLaren Applied Technologies is getting back into cycling

Valtteri Bottas is going to try his hand at rallying

Lewis Hamilton had to slow down in Jerez.

Mercedes is working to keep all of it’s employees healthy.

We know when Ferrari will reveal their 2019 car.

Karun Chandhok will be joining the SkySports F1 team in 2019 - an all star SkySports F1 team at that.

Could Monza be getting faster?

Bernie Ecclestone says that he tried to buy Silverstone.

And Felippe Massa’s Formula E debut was penalty ridden - but it wasn’t his fault.

A little later than we thought, but we’ve got some of our year end stuff done… Predictions are coming next week though.

Next year’s F1 calendar is finalized - no changes since we discussed it in October.

Minor tweaks to the 2019 rules coming

The halo did have an impact on safety this year.

Racing Point is just a place holder name

And Fernando Alonso is driving a Chevy in 2019.

We won’t be doing our end of season wrap this week - still a lot of news to talk about so we’re shooting for next week.

First up we have some news of Robert Wicken’s ongoing recovery - and the news is good.

We know why the curbs were failing apart in Abu Dhabi.

Ross Brawn isn’t happy about the state of F1’s mid-pack teams

F1’s next tire supplier is - Pirelli, but changes are coming.

Haas will not appeal the latest decision regarding Racing Point Force India’s constructor status.

The stewards in Abu Dhabi were shocked into inaction over Fernando Alonso’s corner cutting.

The halo didn’t make it harder for Nico Hulkenburg to get out of his car after it rolled.

Lewis Hamilton is probably a better F1 driver than motoGP rider.

Lewis and Sebastian Vettel have swapped helmets.

Valtteri Bottas thinks that this past year was his worst in F1.

Daniel Ricciardo says goodby to Red Bull.

Alexander Albon is headed to Toro Rosso.

Racing Point will be the new name of Force India for 2019.

McLaren has no regrets over dropping Honda after a disappointing season with Renault.

To open this week we have a special message from Niki Lauda, it’s good to hear from Niki as he continues to recover from his lung transplant earlier this year.

There’s chaos at Renault and Nissan as Carlos Ghosen is taken into custody by Japanese authorities and ultimately fired by both companies due to financial improprieties.

Haas continues to fight against Racing Point Force India.

Fernando Alonso is a little embarrassed by all the attention this weekend.

Lewis Hamilton runs the #1 on his car - for a little while.

Esteban Ocon will be Mercedes Reserve Driver for 2019.

Sergey Sirotkin is out at Williams and Robert Kubica is in.

James Key will be reporting to work at McLaren in 2019.

Formula E will host an in season test in Saudi Arabia and a 1/3 of the drivers will be women.

There was a pretty shocking incident during the F3 race at the Macau Grand Prix this morning, and it wasn’t Dan Ticktum’s win. Sophia Florsch suffered a spinal fracture in a crash that sent her car flying over a barrier, through a catch fence and into a photographer’s platform.

Over in F1, Haas is hoping that Pietro Fittipaldi can help the team with problems with their simulator.

Tatiana Calderon is driving a Sauber F1 car again this weekend.

The FIA has a new crash data system that debuted in Brazil last weekend.

Lewis Hamilton’s engine was close to failure in Brazil - could this impact the final race of the season?

We talk about Max Verstappen’s behavior after the race in Brazil.

Chase Carey continues to talk tough with race promoters, and we know who will be running McLaren’s 2019 Indy 500 project.

Yes, the 2018 Drivers Championship has been decided but the season isn’t over. There’s still a championship left to be decided, and it’s still important.

In the news this week - Rob Smedly is leaving Williams at the end of the season.

Slick tires are getting thinner tread depth in 2019.

Kevin Magnussen says that his car is too good for his team.

Haas’ disqualification in Monza is leading to a potential rules change for 2019.

Chase Carey is defending Formula 1’s partnership with a sports book.

Force India is bringing extra security to the Brazilian Grand Prix this year.

Vettel is reflecting on his championship loss - and he’s in trouble with the FIA after his weigh bridge incident.

McLaren will field a team at the 2019 Indianapolis 500 - and Fernando Alonso will be driving for them.

Is IndyCar coming to Rio de Janeiro?

We’re back - we really wanted to do a show last week but we just ran out of hours in the weekend and couldn’t squeeze one in.

While we were gone, Lewis Hamilton became a 5 time F1 World Champion.

Santino Ferucci’s troubles with Trident is going to cost him over $500,000.

We’ve got a few more weeks until we know who will be driving alongside Daniel Kyviat at Toro Rosso next year.

Will the 2019 aero changes make the racing better? Maybe, maybe not.

F1 team bosses continue to meet without the FIA or FOM - and insist that the FOTA is not coming back.

Niki Lauda is out of the hospital as he continues to recover from his lung transplant.

Could cameras and screens replace mirrors in F1 cars?

Turns out Max Verstappen was out driving himself the beginning of the season.

Ferrari’s return to form appears to be due to the removal of 4 months worth of upgrades.

Is Mercedes troubles because they aren’t running their controversial new rear wheel?

Esteban Ocon and Kevin Magnussen were both disqualified from Austin due to fuel irregularities.

Haas’ appeal of Roman Grosjean’s Monza disqualification has failed.

Helmet cameras and glasses mounted cameras aren’t coming to F1 any time soon.

Daniel Riccardo will drive his Red Bull for the final two races of the year.

Fernando Alonso and NASCAR’s Jimmy Johnson will “trade” cars for laps of the track in Abu Dhabi.

Williams is fined for endangering one of their mechanics during Lance Stroll’s Mexico City pit stop.

Marcus Ericsson is headed to IndyCar for 2019

IndyCars have run on COTA for the first time ever.

And could IndyCar be going to Australia?

While we love it that F1 is back in North America - because F1 in North America is a good thing - it’s also harder for us to watch when it’s in North America.

The winner of this year’s F1 Innovation Award was announced - and we should have entered.

Bernie Ecclestone has figured out how to mess with Liberty Media’s earning from F1.

Next year there will only be three colors to represent the dry tire compounds used each race weekend - there will be more than three compounds, but on three colors.

2019 front wings won’t be tested in post-season testing in Abu Dhabi this year - and Daniel Ricciardo won’t be testing in Abu Dhabi this year.

Renault is scrapping their Rev C engine this year and will be looking at a new concept for 2019.

No, F1 won’t experiment with new weekend formats before the end of the season.

Sebastian Vettel says that Ferrari’s recent upgrades were actually downgrades.

Also not helping Seb is a three place grid penalty for a red flag violation in FP1.

The FIA says Mercedes new rear wheel is legal.

Several changes were made to COTA to keep drivers on the track.

McLaren has a new sponsor - but won’t be in IndyCar for a full season next year.

Lawrence Stroll is working to make Force India his team…

And yes, pre-season testing will be in Barcelona again next year.

Stoffel Vandoorne is headed to Formula E, as is Pascal Wherlin and Jerome D’Ambrosio.

Two weeks in a row with a show? We make be working on a trend here…

This week - Fernando Alonso found somebody other than Honda to complain about at Suzuka this year.

George Russel is headed to Williams in 2019.

The World Motorsports Council met this week - and as expected there’s some areas of disagreement and agreement-

Franz Tost says 20 to 22 races is the right number for races every year - not all the bosses agree with him.

There won’t be a change to the point structure for 2019.

The calendar was finalized for 2019, and there will be some other tweaks to the rules going into the 2019 season.

Max Verstappen won’t get to try MotoGP while he’s currently contracted to Red Bull.

Sebastian Vettel says that Ferrari’s new mission is to prove that they are still a good team.

Alejandro Agag reveals how close Formula E came to failing in it’s first season.

Pascal Wehrlein could have gone to Formula E next year - but is instead looking elsewhere.

And is the new racing series W the right way to get women into F1?

We’re back with a show this week - we fully intended to have a show last week and we explain what happened, to find out you’ll have to listen this week.

While we were gone:

Kimi Raikonnen has already had his first seat fitting with Sauber where he will be joined by Antonio Giovinazzi.

Esteban Ocon defended Lance Stroll

Haas says that there’s been progress in the negotiations regarding Force India’s prize money.

Romain Grosjean and Kevin Magnussen will continue with Haas in 2019.

Sepang will be paying Haas for the damage caused by a loose drain cover at the track last year.

Daniel Kvyat is back at Red Bull for 2019 - as a driver. Really. No, we’re not joking.

The list of drivers that Dale Coyne is talking to regarding seats in his IndyCars keep growing - seems to be just a matter of time before Marcus Erickson is added to that list.

Zak Brown wants to get the rules regarding liveries changed.

There was a race in Russia…

Could Qualifying change for 2019? Maybe softer tires? Doesn’t this all sound familiar?

Drivers want DRS through 130R in Suzuka.

Oh and the race in Miami - probably won’t be happening…

We’re back - although it doesn’t look like we missed all that much…

The UK’s Channel 4 will still get some coverage of F1 for 2019 - highlights and the British GP live.

F1 wants seven Fan Fests in 2019 - and they’ve announced a deal to bring betting into the sport.

There’s a new hotel coming to Silverstone and it will over look the pit lane.

Kimi Raikkone is leaving Ferrari to go to Sauber.

Pascal Wehrlein is leaving Mercedes.

Stoffel Vandorne is interested in IndyCar.

Force India will probably not let their drivers race against each other again.

Charlie Whiting doesn’t think that Sergio Perez intended to hit Sergei Sirotkin in Singapore - but he’s pretty upset of Grosjean ignoring blue flags. Thanks to that incident Romain Grosjean is just 3 points away from a race ban.

Haas says that Renault violated a gentleman’s agreement.

Force India avoided a 65k Euro fine, and Lewis Hamilton is playing mind games with Sebastian Vettel.

We meant to mention it in the show, but didn't - no show next week. Patricia will be traveling over the weekend so we won't be recording next week.

Roman Grosjean was disqualified from last weekend's race in Monza after a protest by Renault because the floor of his car wasn't properly shaped. Haas has already appealed the decision - more to follow.

Charlie Whiting says that he isn't bothered by Max Verstappen accusing him of ruining racing.

Ferrari can't keep ice packs on the camera mounts on their car anymore - and we know why Ferrari has been doing it.

We know why Sauber has been having problems with their DRS.

Jean Todt says that we won't see a new manufacturer coming to F1 in 2021, nor does he believe that F1 will ever be a fully electric series.

Stoffel Vandorne is out at McLaren for 2019 - Lando Norris is getting promoted.

Santino Ferruci is telling his side of the story about that fateful weekend in Silverstone a few months ago - and Dale Coyne Racing is standing by Santino for now.

Schmidt-Peterson racing has shared more about Robert Wicken's injuries in Pocono - and they're more significant than we realized.

Fernando Alonso spend this past week at Barber Motorsports Park driving an IndyCar.

IndyCar's 2019 schedule was published. 

With all the talk around Force India potentially becoming a "B" team for Mercedes, the FIA has announced that they are monitoring the situation and making sure that there isn't too much collaboration between teams.

If the halo didn't save Charles LeClerc's life, at a minimum it helped protect him in a pretty shocking looking incident. According to Charlie Whiting, not only did the halo perform as designed, but it withstood the impact without cracking, breaking or deforming. But the FIA is looking to alternative options to the halo for better aesthetics.

Why did Nico Hulkenburg get a 10 place grid penalty instead of a race ban - Charlie Whiting explains why.

Changes coming in 2019 - new onboard camera angles, taller rear wings to improve visibility, more lights on the rear wings, and new helmets for drivers.

Michelin didn't submit a bid for the new tire tender - but that doesn't mean that Pirelli was the only bidder.

Toto Wolf admits that Mercedes has a problem with junior drivers, and thinks the answer may lie in third cars.

Fernando Alonso and Kevin Magnussen aren't friends and probably never will be.

Haas is upset about the prize money deal that may be offered to Force India and is willing to stand up to stop it - meanwhile Force India says they desire special treatment.

Lance Stroll went to the Force India factory - but Williams doesn't expect any driver moves before Singapore.

Sebastian Vettel broke Kimi's car while driving in downtown Milan - because Kimi has a different steering wheel.

Ferrari probably won't quit F1 now, and they haven't decided if Kimi is staying. That means that Sauber can't make a decision about it's driver lineup. However, Stoffel Vandorne isn't a candidate to move to Sauber.

The draft 2019 calendar is out - and the Texas Motor Speedway is upset about it.

First off a big congratulations to friend of the show and driver of the #9 Palo Alto Networks, Juncos Racing ProMazda car Robert Megennis on his second place in Round 14 of the ProMazda championship at Gateway Motorsports Park.

IndyCar rookie Robert Wickens had a major crash last weekend in the Pocono 500 where he suffered serious injuries. Currently he's in stable condition but looks to have several surgeries on the horizon.

Over in F1 - Monza has seen a drop in ticket sales and is projecting yet another overall money loosing season - putting the future of F1 at the track in question again.

A "soft" cost cap is coming to F1 for 2019.

Maybe there won't be a new engine format for 2021 - and the existing constructors are ok with that.

Sahra Force India is dead - Race Point Force India has risen from the ashes of the old team.

Silly season is nowhere close to being over.

Fernando Alonso insists the Red Bull offered him Daniel Ricciardo's seat - and Red Bull insists that they haven't.

Oh - and Fernando's WEC team had their cars disqualified from the 6 Hours of Silverstone - BOTH of their cars.

Summer break is almost over, but things are still a bit quiet around the F1 world.

This week we learned how Kevin Magnussen keeps himself motivated - turns out he has an active imagination.

The rapid growth at Renault's Enstone base hasn't been all positive.

Renault can't turn their attention to their 2019 car yet.

Cyril Abiteboul things that F1 needs more standard parts.

Fernando Alonso is leaving F1 at the end of the season - but he's not retiring.

Its looking like McLaren and Fernando are headed to IndyCar - but Scott Dixon won't be Fernando's team mate.

Carlos Sainz Jr will be taking Fernando's seat at McLaren

Santino Ferruci has impressed Dale Coyne - we just don't understand how.

And the 2019-2020 season of the World Endurance Championship will require a little less endurance.

Work continues on the new Concorde Agreement for 2021 - Chase Carey says that it's just down to the details and the compromises. However Cyril Abiteboul says that at least on the engine through - plans have fallen behind.

What won't be happening soon - a shift to a fully electric system in Formula 1.

F1 is open to rethinking how they generate revenues from events.

Could there be a German GP in 2019?

Lawrence Stroll has bought his son a Formula 1 team - which pretty much puts to shame any gift your father has given you.

No - Fernando Alonso will not be going to Red Bull. Not now, not ever. Don't bother asking Red Bull about it, because it's a dumb question.

Niki Lauda was days away from death when he was put on the lung transplant list.

And there's a new licensing scheme coming to IndyCar.

We're back!  After a busy couple of weeks we're back and expect to be back for a good stretch.

Last week as IndyCar Weekend at Mid-Ohio Motorsports Course.  Alexander Rossi had a picture perfect weekend - but our highlight of the weekend was the time we spent with Robert Megennis and everyone at the Juncos Pro-Mazda team. We look forward to following Robert as his career progresses.

Unfortunately, Mazda has announced that they are ending their sponsorship of the Mazda Road to Indy Presented by Cooper Tires at the end of the season. We don't fully know how this will impact the series but we plan to keep an eye on the situation.

Michelin has weighed in on F1's new tire tender - and they're not happy about it.

F1 and the automotive industry was shocked by the passing of Sergio Marchionne - however, even Fiat-Chrysler didn't know how ill Sergio was, and now they want answers.

Valtteri Bottas didn't appreciate Toto Wolf calling him Lewis Hamilton's "wingman" but things are better now.

Red Bull is really upset over Max Verstappen's latest MGU-K failure - and Renault doesn't care what Red Bull thinks any more.

Force India has gone into receivership, and there's more to the situation than meets the eye.

Daniel Riccardo is leaving Red Bull for Renault - and now the entire driver's market is spinning.

Niki Lauda has had a lung transplant.

And Billy Monger drinks from a leg... 

We're back (for a week)!

We know the levels were off for the start of the show - not sure what happened but we got things back under control about halfway through.

This week we're all about the silly season news - some departures, some signings, some maybes...

We're back - briefly...  We bring you a new show this week but we'll be gone for the next two weeks while one of us hits the road.  Keep an eye on the Facebook page because there will be pictures from them trip going up on our page there.

While we were gone -

Teams are looking for less testing in 2019.

Aston Martin says that Red Bull shifting to Honda isn't a problem.

Christian Horner expresses concern over the coming rule changes.

Was the French Grand Prix that great?

Folks are upset over Sebastian's penalty in France, and mistake like this could give away the Championship for Seb.

Silly season is underway - with rumors that Kimi Raikonnen, Charles Leclerc, Daniel Ricciardo and Adrian Newey on the move?

Renault says their new MGU-K is ready to go - the MGI-K that was supposed to be rolled out the beginning of 2017... And both Red Bulls and Fernando Alonso aren't going to use it this week.

F1 won't be going to Germany in 2019, and if it goes to Miami next year the course is already going to be different from what we were told it would be.

Susie Wolf will run a Formula E team for the series' 2018-19 season.

The FIA is considering kicking a driver out of Formula 3, and Billy Monger got to drive an F1 car..