Away We Go Podcast

A three-day F1 ticket in China costs about US$68, while a weekend in Lewis Hamilton’s House 44 in Las Vegas runs to around A$26,000.

Dianne Bortoletto and Ciara Gillan dig into the real cost of attending Formula 1 races, from a full season done on £20,000 to Paddock Club passes that do not actually get you into the paddock.

Ciara argues everyday fans are being priced out of their own home races, while Di weighs up whether influencers belong at the track when sponsors such as Louis Vuitton and Barilla are paying to bring them. So who is Formula 1 really pricing its races for?

Plus a €20 sandwich in Hungary, and why Melbourne’s four-day motorsport festival still delivers.

In this episode:

• Why cheap general admission can mean no view and no big screen
• Full Time Formula’s 24 races on £20,000, finishing £487 over budget
• China the cheapest ticket on the calendar, Las Vegas the dearest
• $13,000 a head for Red Bull hospitality at the Australian Grand Prix
• Wimbledon drops content creator passes, and Di is conflicted on F1 influencers
• An English fan who can’t afford her home race at Silverstone
• €20 sandwiches, a rumoured food ban and one water fountain in Madrid
• Paddock Club from A$7,700 in Azerbaijan to A$21,500 in Melbourne
• 2027 grandstand prices for Hungary, Austria and Belgium, with Belgium up 10 to 15 per cent
• Why Melbourne’s four-day festival is worth the trip

CHAPTERS

0:00 Sticker Shock Intro

0:45 Welcome to Away We Go Podcast

1:10 The GA Reality Check

2:45 Views, Screens and Commentary

5:00 24 Races on a £20,000 Budget

9:05 Cheapest vs Vegas Prices

10:20 Influencers at the Track

11:15 Hospitality Price Tags

14:50 Sponsors and Creator Value

16:45 Fans Priced Out of Their Home Race

18:20 Food, Water and Facilities

20:20 Paddock Club Myths

21:10 Ticket Rush and Sellouts

22:00 Paddock Club Prices and House 44

22:45 Using Points for Hospitality

23:35 Next Year’s Ticket Prices

24:40 Why All Motorsport Costs So Much

26:05 Prices Keep Rising

27:40 Is It Worth Going?

28:25 Why Melbourne Delivers

29:30 Final Thoughts

Mentioned in this episode:

• Chris Chamberlain on using points for F1 hospitality, Ep71: https://player.captivate.fm/episode/bcf7199d-1b42-48a5-9b70-e8046cbec7a9
• Colin Johnston, Ep77: https://player.captivate.fm/episode/3dba3e01-844a-4e55-9ca3-d52ce0533ca2

Hosted by Dianne Bortoletto, Instagram @travelletto.

With Ciara Gillan of Formula Live Pulse, Instagram @ciaragillan16.

Formula Live Pulse: https://www.f1livepulse.com/en/ get 10% off with code AWAYWEGO

Follow Away We Go Podcast:

• Website: https://awaywegopodcast.com
• Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/away-we-go-podcast/id1783230663
• Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4zhYpuRy3mL6y44ZERI0X6
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@AwayWeGoPodcast
• Substack: https://substack.com/@awaywegopodcast
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Next week, we’re back to the racing.

Lando Norris dive-bombed McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri on the second-last lap of the 2026 F1 Singapore Grand Prix sprint, put him out of the race, then told reporters it was a race, end of. Di and Ciara Gillan take apart the move and the media pen.

Max Verstappen took both poles, the sprint and the race at Marina Bay, his first Singapore win at the 10th attempt and his 250th Formula 1 start. Lewis Hamilton ignored Ferrari’s call to pit under the VSC, ran 43 laps on softs and slid from a possible podium to sixth.

After attacks targeting an airport in Saudi Arabia, should Formula 1 still race in Qatar and Abu Dhabi?

Plus Kim Kardashian charms Martin Brundle on the grid walk, Ciara marks a year on the show, and Bathurst is decided by an empty fuel tank.

In this episode:

• Max Verstappen wins Singapore at his 10th attempt, plus the sprint and both poles
• Toto Wolff dismisses claims Mercedes is favouring Kimi Antonelli over George Russell
• Nine DNFs in the sprint, mostly mechanical, including both Cadillacs
• Lando Norris takes out Oscar Piastri, and his media pen answer makes it worse
• Lando asks on the radio if he can help Oscar; Di and Ciara aren’t buying it
• Lewis Hamilton stays out under the VSC and drops from third to sixth
• Isack Hadjar goes from the pit lane to a point in 10th
• Kimi Antonelli could technically clinch the title in Austin
• Should F1 still race in Qatar and Abu Dhabi?
• Bathurst: the leader runs out of fuel on the last lap

Hosted by Dianne Bortoletto, Instagram @travelletto.

With Ciara Gillan of Formula Live Pulse, Instagram @ciaragillan16.

Formula Live Pulse: https://www.f1livepulse.com/en/ get 10% off with code AWAYWEGO

Follow Away We Go Podcast:

• Website: https://awaywegopodcast.com
• Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/away-we-go-podcast/id1783230663
• Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4zhYpuRy3mL6y44ZERI0X6
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@AwayWeGoPodcast
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Subscribe to Away We Go Podcast wherever you listen, and drop us a like or comment if you’re watching on YouTube.

Next stop, Austin.

Max Verstappen took his first win of the season at the 2026 F1 Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia, and Di was in the grandstand at Sepang to see it. She rates the racing as first class and the organisation around it as dangerous.

Rain delayed the Formula 1 start by an hour and 40 minutes, then a software bug had Ferrari telling Lewis Hamilton to stop and reboot. Hamilton still finished third behind Kimi Antonelli, while George Russell retired and now sits 84 points behind his Mercedes teammate.

Di tells Ciara Gillan what the weekend was like for fans. The water station sold out before 2pm on qualifying day, and getting back to the hotel that night took five hours.

Malaysia is reportedly in talks to host Formula 1 again. Would fans come back after this?

In this episode:

• Max Verstappen's first win of 2026, Red Bull's first with its own power unit
• The software bug that had Ferrari telling Lewis Hamilton to stop and reboot
• Ferrari gamble on softs in the wet; Hamilton makes them last 33 laps
• George Russell's third DNF of the season leaves him 84 points behind Kimi Antonelli
• Seven races left, and no official word on Qatar and Abu Dhabi
• Trackside commentary in Arabic and English, not Malay
• The shuttle bus that lapped the circuit and returned us to the start
• Water sold out before 2pm on qualifying day, and you couldn't bring your own
• Five hours to get back to the hotel, and fans fainting in queues
• What Sepang needs to fix before Formula 1 returns

Hosted by Dianne Bortoletto, Instagram @travelletto.

With Ciara Gillan of Formula Live Pulse, Instagram @ciaragillan16.

Formula Live Pulse: https://www.f1livepulse.com/en/ get 10% off with code AWAYWEGO

Follow Away We Go Podcast:

• Website: https://awaywegopodcast.com
• Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/away-we-go-podcast/id1783230663
• Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4zhYpuRy3mL6y44ZERI0X6
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@AwayWeGoPodcast
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Subscribe to Away We Go Podcast wherever you listen, and drop us a like or comment if you're watching on YouTube.

Next stop, Singapore.

George Russell led every lap of the 2026 F1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix in Baku for the first time in his career, then crossed the line less than two-tenths ahead of Max Verstappen after losing turbo on the final lap.

The Formula 1 race turned at the lap 35 restart. Franco Colapinto locked up and hit Alpine teammate Pierre Gasly, who took out Lando Norris. Norris came out swinging, saying some drivers shouldn't be in Formula 1 and calling for a race ban. Ciara Gillan says a world champion running eighth at a restart is just another driver in a car.

Oscar Piastri was running third until a lockup dropped him to 14th. Kimi Antonelli climbed from 16th to fifth and still leads the championship by 66 points.

Jamie Chadwick's Williams test also raises a bigger question: why has it taken 11 years since Susie Wolff for a woman to drive a Williams?

In this episode:

• Russell topped the practice sessions and qualified eight-tenths clear on pole
• Antonelli hit the wall in Q1, started 16th and finished fifth
• Isack Hadjar returned from a broken wrist to qualify fourth and finish third
• Seven DNFs, including the Colapinto, Gasly and Norris restart pile-up
• Norris calls for a race ban, and Ciara on his growing arrogance
• Flavio Briatore warns Argentine fans over online abuse of Alpine drivers
• Piastri's lockup from third to 14th, and Oscar Piastri's best qualifying in weeks
• Should Red Bull have swapped Hadjar and Verstappen? Jacques Villeneuve says no
• Carlos Sainz scores points for Williams, then takes a five-place grid drop for ignoring yellows
• Jamie Chadwick tests the Williams FW45, and why women wait so long

Hosted by Dianne Bortoletto, Instagram @travelletto.

With Ciara Gillan of Formula Live Pulse, Instagram @ciaragillan16.

Formula Live Pulse: https://www.f1livepulse.com/en/ get 10% off with code AWAYWEGO

Follow Away We Go Podcast:

• Website: https://awaywegopodcast.com
• Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/away-we-go-podcast/id1783230663
• Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4zhYpuRy3mL6y44ZERI0X6
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@AwayWeGoPodcast
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Subscribe to Away We Go Podcast wherever you listen, and drop us a like or comment if you're watching on YouTube.

Next stop, Malaysia.

The Formula 1 2027 calendar is out with 24 races, 10 sprint weekends and Australia no longer the season opener, and Dianne Bortoletto and Ciara Gillan have problems with most of it.

Bahrain and Saudi Arabia open the year, Qatar and Abu Dhabi close it, which puts the Middle East at both ends of the season while this year's races in the region were cancelled. Di and Ciara weigh two theories: a consolation prize for the host nations, or a tidy way to drop four rounds without leaving gaps if the conflict continues. Neither is confirmed.

Sprint weekends go from six to 10, and one of them is Monaco. Di reckons every weekend ends up a sprint eventually. Ciara calls the Monaco call wild.

There is also the small matter of F1's carbon neutral by 2030 target and a route that crosses the world seven times.

In this episode:

• Australia loses the season opener to Bahrain, and Di is disappointed
• Middle East at both ends of the calendar while this year's races were cancelled
• Sweetener for the host nations, or a plan for cancelling cleanly
• Las Vegas is the only race Formula 1 owns and runs itself
• 10 sprint weekends, up from six, and Ciara's fear it hits 15
• Di's prediction: one practice, sprint quali, sprint, race, every weekend
• Monaco as a sprint weekend, and why Ciara calls it wild
• Carbon neutral by 2030 versus a route that zigzags the globe
• Di's fix: points for qualifying and a reverse grid
• Portugal and Türkiye return to the calendar

Hosted by Dianne Bortoletto, Instagram @travelletto.

With Ciara Gillan of Formula Live Pulse, Instagram @ciaragillan16.

Formula Live Pulse: https://www.f1livepulse.com/en/ get 10% off with code AWAYWEGO

Follow Away We Go Podcast:

• Website: https://awaywegopodcast.com
• Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/away-we-go-podcast/id1783230663
• Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4zhYpuRy3mL6y44ZERI0X6
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@AwayWeGoPodcast
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Subscribe to Away We Go Podcast wherever you listen, and drop us a like or comment if you're watching on YouTube.

Next stop, Baku.

Kimi Antonelli won the 2026 F1 Spanish Grand Prix in Madrid, then said it probably should have been Lando Norris's. Di disagrees: McLaren pitted Lando after the virtual safety car had ended, then took seven seconds to change his tyres. Mercedes called Kimi in within three seconds. The better team won.

On a Formula 1 weekend both hosts rate the dullest of the season, Di and Ciara Gillan still find plenty to argue about. Max Verstappen cut a corner and gave the place back before the stewards had to act. Lewis Hamilton lost his brakes on lap six for his first DNF of the year. FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem said publicly that Fernando Alonso cannot retire without a win.

Lando's cool-down room behaviour gets picked apart, and the mid-September deadline for confirming the last two races has arrived with no announcement. Is F1 about to drop a Middle East round?

In this episode:

• Madrid's designer promised flow; the race delivered almost no overtakes
• McLaren pit Lando Norris after the VSC ended, then a seven-second stop
• Lewis Hamilton's first DNF of the season: no brakes on lap six
• Max Verstappen cuts the corner, gives the place back, no further action
• Kimi Antonelli says it should have been Lando's win; Di thinks that's too much
• Lando in the cool-down room: feet on the table and the wrong drink
• FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem says Fernando Alonso can't retire without a win
• Should Alonso and Lance Stroll give up their Aston Martin seats?
• Carlos Sainz retires at his home race after tangling with Alonso and Yuki Tsunoda
• A leaked 2027 calendar still lists all four Middle East races, unconfirmed

Hosted by Dianne Bortoletto, Instagram @travelletto.

With Ciara Gillan of Formula Live Pulse, Instagram @ciaragillan16.

Formula Live Pulse: https://www.f1livepulse.com/en/ get 10% off with code AWAYWEGO

Follow Away We Go Podcast:

• Website: https://awaywegopodcast.com
• Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/away-we-go-podcast/id1783230663
• Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4zhYpuRy3mL6y44ZERI0X6
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@AwayWeGoPodcast
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Subscribe to Away We Go Podcast wherever you listen, and drop us a like or comment if you're watching on YouTube.

Next stop, Baku.

Kimi Antonelli started 19th at the 2026 F1 Italian Grand Prix and was leading Monza by lap 18. He pitted, did it all again, and won: the first Italian to take the Italian Grand Prix since 1966.

Behind him, Ferrari fell apart and Flavio Briatore accused McLaren of corruption in the team boss press conference. The open question is George Russell: second on the grid, second in the race, barely a word for his teammate afterwards. Has Mercedes already chosen its number one in this Formula 1 title fight?

Plus Lewis Hamilton's barn-find F40, Charles Leclerc turning up in a Fiat 500, and a long-table pasta lunch on the Monza grid.

In this episode:

• Antonelli from 19th: first Italian winner of the Italian GP since Ludovico Scarfiotti in 1966
• Charles Leclerc out on lap three, 50G, same corner as his 2020 crash
• Pierre Gasly's first career pole, days after the Court of Appeal stripped his Monaco podium
• Di on why appealing penalties instead of serving them is a dangerous precedent
• Briatore insinuates McLaren influenced the Court of Appeal; Andrea Stella calls it offensive
• Confirmed: Franco Colapinto stays at Alpine for 2027 on a one-year deal
• Ciara makes the case that Leclerc is his own worst enemy
• Ferrari leaves Lewis Hamilton out under the VSC; he finishes sixth
• Hamilton's barn-find Ferrari F40: 69 kilometres on the clock, engine stamped 44
• Oscar Piastri's Q3 lock-up, Lando Norris starts ninth, and the fan abuse that followed
• Norris announces LN4 Fusion junior team and the LN4 Legacy driver program
• Reported, not confirmed: Antonelli's 25 overtakes as a single-race record
• Monza confirmed as a sprint weekend from 2027; race weekend expected to bring €208 million to the region

Hosted by Dianne Bortoletto, Instagram @travelletto.

With Ciara Gillan of Formula Live Pulse, Instagram @ciaragillan16.

Formula Live Pulse: https://www.f1livepulse.com/en/

Follow Away We Go Podcast:

• Website: https://awaywegopodcast.com
• Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/away-we-go-podcast/id1783230663
• Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4zhYpuRy3mL6y44ZERI0X6
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@AwayWeGoPodcast
• Substack: https://substack.com/@awaywegopodcast
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Subscribe to Away We Go Podcast wherever you listen, and drop us a like or comment if you're watching on YouTube.

Next stop, Madrid.

Two race trips dominate this episode: Monza next week, and Sepang, hosting Malaysia's first Formula 1 race since 2017.

Journalist and author Stewart Bell has worked both. At Monza he explains what the oldest track on the calendar feels like on foot: the historic banking too steep to walk up, and Ascari taken at speeds that look impossible from trackside. The practical layer is all here too. Stay in Milan near a metro, take the train from Milano Centrale in roughly 25 minutes, and leave the car alone. Then eat properly: risotto alla Milanese, cotoletta, and aperitivo with a Select Spritz instead of an Aperol.

Sepang is a different trip. The circuit sits beside the airport but more than an hour from Kuala Lumpur, so Stewart shares how he plans a race weekend there, along with the guided street food day in Chinatown that produced the best laksa of his life, and what to do in KL beyond the track.

On the racing, Kimi Antonelli takes his engine penalty at his home race, which Di rates as a smart call by Mercedes, and by Stewart's numbers Ferrari's upgrades are worth around 30 horsepower, though Mercedes start as favourites.

Hanging over it all: Formula 1 has until mid-September to decide whether Qatar and Abu Dhabi can host the final rounds. Stewart says the fallback is Imola in December, with rumours of Malaysia again and even China opening next season.

Di is gutted about not being in Monza. Happier news from Stewart: his book cracked Amazon's overall top 100 in its first week and regularly sits in the top 10 list for motorsport books. And the best news, his publisher Penguin are interested in book two.

Next week: the Italian Grand Prix from Monza.

In this episode:

• Stewart's promotional tour: radio spots, a nerve-wracking live cross on the Today Show, and the book hitting Amazon's overall top 100 in its first week
• Book two is confirmed with Penguin but the topic isn't, and Di invites listeners to drop suggestions in the comments
• What Monza feels like in person: the banking, the Tifosi, and Ascari at speeds that look impossible
• Di on Mercedes taking Kimi Antonelli's engine penalty at his home race, and Stewart on the chance it gives him to fight through the field
• Ferrari's engine upgrades, worth around 30 horsepower in total by Stewart's estimate, against Mercedes as outright favourites
• Getting to the circuit: trains from Milano Centrale in roughly 25 minutes, the Biassono Lesmo Parco station on the Lesmo side, and why driving isn't worth it
• What to eat in Milan: risotto alla Milanese, cotoletta alla Milanese, and aperitivo with a Select Spritz instead of an Aperol
• The waiter in Puglia who flatly refused to make a cappuccino after lunch
• Sepang hosts the relocated Bahrain Grand Prix, Malaysia's first F1 race since 2017: right beside the airport, over an hour from KL, with a direct train to the circuit
• Stewart's private street food tour through Chinatown, and the grey shrimp paste that transformed a bowl of asam laksa
• KL beyond the track: the Petronas Towers, hornbills at the Bird Park, the Batu Caves, and roti canai for under three dollars
• The mid-September deadline on Qatar and Abu Dhabi, the Imola fallback, and rumours of China opening next season

Hosted by Dianne Bortoletto, Instagram @travelletto.

Stewart Bell is a journalist, broadcaster and author of Formula 1: The World's Most Brutal Sport, published by Penguin.

Get the book: https://amzn.to/4nAWaNj

Stewart on Instagram: https://instagram.com/StewartBellF1

Stewart's website: https://www.stewart-bell.com

Listen to Stewart Bell in Ep72 where he talks about his book and his F1 career.

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Follow Away We Go Podcast:

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McLaren put Oscar Piastri on hards, pitted him for another set of hards 13 laps later, then cost him a further second and a half with a 3.8 stop. He went from third to sixth. Di and Ciara Gillan spend most of this episode trying to work out why.

Lando Norris won it, his second in a row, and left Zandvoort sounding like a man who thinks a second title is live. He is 83 points behind Kimi Antonelli with 11 races to go.

Max Verstappen was out on the first racing lap. He caught a wet patch, hit the wall twice, and his car came apart, at his home race, in the last Dutch Grand Prix Zandvoort will hold. Di explains why the circuit walked away: no government backing, all three days had to sell out, and a long contract with Liberty Media was a risk the promoter would not take.

Mercedes ordered Russell to hand second place to Antonelli. Russell's response on the radio, and his response in the pen afterwards, were two different things.

The question the episode does not settle: with Mark Webber no longer welcome in the McLaren garage, who is arguing Piastri's case during a race?

Russell arrived engaged and relaxed and won the sprint.

Non-race weekend next, then Monza.

• Why Zandvoort is off the calendar: no government underwriting, all three days had to sell out, and a long Liberty Media deal was too much risk. The circuit walked, not Formula 1.
• Verstappen catches a wet patch on the first real lap, hits the wall twice, and is out at his home race in front of an orange grandstand.
• Bortoleto spins 360 behind him and Hülkenberg misses T-boning him by inches through a wall of smoke.
• Norris wins back to back and starts talking title on the team radio, 83 points down with 11 to go.
• McLaren put Piastri on hards, then on hards again after 13 laps, then a 3.8 second stop. Ciara: "I feel like Piastri is driving a tractor."
• Piastri's restart overtake on Russell, in a place nobody overtakes, which left the Sky Sports commentary team lost for words.
• Ciara's argument for Piastri: at every other top team the two drivers are within reach of each other. Only at McLaren is there a gulf.
• Hadjar out with a wrist injury from boxing training, Lawson promoted to Red Bull and finishing seventh, Tsunoda back on the grid in 11th.
• Sainz slides into Albon on lap 66 and takes a penalty, weeks after both re-signed with Williams. The rumoured 30 million euro deal is still just a rumour.
• Half the 2027 grid is unsigned: both Mercedes, both Racing Bulls, both Aston Martins, both Haas, both Audi, plus Hadjar and Colapinto.
• Mercedes swap Russell and Antonelli for second. Russell to his engineer: "We've just lost a double podium here, mate."
• Ferrari's radio war: Leclerc nearly into the back of Hamilton, and Hamilton asking whether he is a guinea pig out there.
• Six retirements over 72 laps on the second shortest circuit after Monaco, and Di's tribute to the Dutch fans.
• Ciara on what Piastri actually needs: to start demanding things, or someone in his corner doing it for him.

Hosted by Dianne Bortoletto, Instagram @travelletto.

With Ciara Gillan of Formula Live Pulse, Instagram @ciaragillan16.

Formula Live Pulse: https://www.f1livepulse.com/en/

Follow Away We Go Podcast:

• Website: https://awaywegopodcast.com
• Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/away-we-go-podcast/id1783230663
• Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4zhYpuRy3mL6y44ZERI0X6
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Silly season is meant to be silly. This one has been oddly missing all the silliness — until you look closer.

Di and Ciara Gillan from Formula Live Pulse close out the summer break with the rumours that actually matter: Max Verstappen’s exit clause has been triggered, Carlos Sainz has reportedly been offered €30 million to stay at Williams, and Cadillac has already sacked its team boss six months into its debut season.

Plus the question nobody wants to answer out loud — if Max walks, who replaces him? And would you wish that seat on Oscar Piastri?

Away from the paddock politics there’s good news: George Russell and Carmen Montero Mundt are engaged (with a yellow diamond reportedly worth around a million dollars), and Charles and Alexandra Leclerc are expecting.

We also get into the 2027 calendar chaos — Imola as a possible season finale, the ticket queue that caught everyone off guard, and whether Germany, Rwanda, Cape Town or Buenos Aires are realistic.

Racing’s back next week. Dutch Grand Prix. See you there.

Follow

Dianne Bortoletto @Travelletto

Ciara Gillan — her F1 video content at the moment is excellent: @ciaragillian16

Follow Away We Go Podcast:

• Website: https://awaywegopodcast.com
• Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/away-we-go-podcast/id1783230663
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Next week: Dutch Grand Prix.