The Bloke and A Bird Show

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?

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.