Formula One only has itself to blame
Everyone’s second favourite F1 podcast.
The Hungarian Grand Prix proved decisively that only races at Austria are good now, as Lewis Hamilton romped to victory and we all saw the inevitable Bottas 3.0 failure that we knew was coming. Cheeka, Phill and Terry ponder Budapest, new races, racism (again) and wonder if Kimi could actually be out of a drive next season? Surely not.
The sequel to the Austrian Grand Prix was a bit disappointing, but at least qualifying for Austria 2: Styriana was entertaining, and there's always Last Lap Lando to keep things interesting. Cheeka, Phill and Terry reflect on the second weekend at Spielberg and lament Ferrari's comedic failings. Plus we learn how much Terry has to pay to look as good as he does.
F1 is back! And in a move nobody expected, it was actually rather good despite the world slowly falling apart. There was intrigue. There was drama. There was pretty terrible reliability. And a Mercedes won.
Cheeka, Phill and Terry convene in their virtual, make-believe pub to discuss the Austrian Grand Prix and talk racing, racism and rays of hope that maybe, just maybe, F1 will save us all.
It’s 1998, Cheeka is a child, Terry and Phill have terrible hair and David Coulthard just can’t stop crashing. The team discusses the carnage that was the 1998 Belgian Grand Prix and looks ahead to some actual 2020 racing, which may actually happen. Plus all the other news is calmly discussed in an informed and reasoned manner. Kind of.
With lockdown still in effect, Cheeka, Phill and Terry look back on the 1999 European Grand Prix where everyone crashed or broke down and a Stewart won. A Stewart!
There's also plenty of chat about the premature silly season, which will probably see Vettel retire, Sainz cement his place as a number two driver and Ricciardo stick two fingers up to Renault. Stay alert, people!
It's the Australian Grand Prix! The first chance to see what all the teams have been doing over the winter break and... wait, what? Oh. Shit. OK, well in that case Cheeka, Phill and Terry talk about the 1986 Australian Grand Prix and also contemplate Esports, coronavirus and all sorts of other waffle to keep you entertained while we can't go anywhere.
Way, way back, before the dawn of time, the Australian Grand Prix was due to take place and coronavirus was just a glint in a Wuhan bat’s eye. Well, actually it was earlier this week but before everything went to shit and the race was cancelled. Still, Cheeka, Terry and Phill went to the pub to talk about testing and see where we were ahead of the season that now probably won’t start until Baku. Maybe Williams will be front runners by then?
It's part two of our season review - where things get drunker and there's much discussion of Jack's Airbnb experience in Toronto, Terry reveals our MOTMOTFF1SSPOTYOTMOD2019OTY2019 and Phill shares some more lovely news.
If you've loved listening to us this season, and would like more in 2020 - buy us a pint! Some of it actually goes on making the show. Donate at ff1s.com/pintpintpint
It's time to drink what's left of your beer money as Cheeka, Terry and Phill are joined by special guest Jack Nicholls to review the year in F1. What does the BBC commentator really think of the 2019 season? How much money will Terry end up donating to the Dog's Trust? And what special news will Phill share with us all? Find out within....
This is how the season ends. Not with a bang, but with a deathly boring procession around Yas Marina, livened only by a DRS failure and Lando Norris crying. Still, it eases us into the off season, eh? Cheeka, Phill and Terry gather around the microphones to discuss the snoozefest that was the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, and we give our nominations for the FF1S Sports Personality Of The Year Of the Match of Driving Of The Year. 2019.
The Brazilian Grand Prix was all set to be a relatively unremarkable end-of-season snoozefest, until all hell broke loose towards the end of the race. Cheeka, Phill and Terry talk through Ferrari’s farce, Bottas’ smokey bum and a very weird podium, and also announce their Man of the Match of Driving (MotMoD).
The battle is over. Valtteri Bottas won the US Grand Prix, but no one cared because Lewis Hamilton won his sixth world title and the rest of F1 2019 doesn’t matter anymore. Cheeka, Phill and Terry forensically dissect the goings on at the Circuit of the Americas and ask a variety of silly questions, while drinking beer. Some things never change.
There was a party down Mexico way, but despite having the fastest car (again), Ferrari conspired to throw away a guaranteed win (again). Hamilton won the race but isn’t champion yet. Can Bottas bring it back? No, don’t be silly. Cheeka, Phill and Terry dial in to catch up on the fun in Mexico City, as well as all the other entertaining tedium that F1 churns out when it’s not on track.
Not even a typhoon could stop Ferrari ballsing up yet another certain win and Mercedes won all of the championships at Suzuka. Cheeka, Phill and Terry look back on LeClerc's Verstappen-like attack on Verstappen, Vettel's false start that wasn't and Bottas pulling out his annual good performance, as well as all the other nonsense that happened in Japan.
The Russian Grand Prix was notable mostly for Ferrari returning to their time-honoured tradition of shooting themselves in the foot, this time with the added bonus of an internal wrangle between Charles Leclerc and Sebastian Vettel. Cheeka, Phill and Terry reflect on Sochi and catch up on the rest of the F1 news, including McLaren going back to Honda. Sorry, Renault. Sorry, Mercedes.
Singapore was a dull race, or WAS IT? Yes. But also a bit interesting thanks to internal Ferrari wrangling, Vettel being good again (maybe), Leclerc being a whiner and Mercedes not being on the podium. Phill and Terry are joined by guest host and professional Cheeka impersonator Cameron Tait to trawl through the Singapore Grand Prix and see what nuggets they can find. It's like a normal podcast, except in the dark.
Monza had it all: hilarious qualifying snafus, an epic battle between the old master and the new young padawan, and some comically poor driving by Sebastian Vettel. Cheeka, Phill and Terry discuss the Italian Grand Prix, drink only water and lament the loss of Rich Energy from the sport.
After a very sad weekend at the Belgian Grand Prix, Cheeka, Phill and Terry reflect on the racing and the other events at Spa-Francorchamps, as well as all the silly season changes over the summer break.
We've bought another round of drinks, and run inside to escape a pub quiz and reflect on the Hungarian Grand Prix, where everything returned to normal. Hamilton won, Verstappen wasn't far behind, and Bottas did nothing for his career prospects. Cheeka, Phill and Terry go through the various talking points from the Hungaroring, and there's an international Fact Off.
Better late than never, it’s a special two-part episode looking back first at the rain-soaked and slippery German Grand Prix, where everyone crashed and Lance Stroll took the lead. Weird. Then after a short interlude and an incident-packed truck journey to Budapest, Cheeka, Phill and Terry will reflect on the Hungarian Grand Prix. But more on that later.