The Downshift AU F1 Podcast

Ninth place. That's all Kimi Antonelli needs in Mexico City to become the youngest world champion in Formula One history, at 20 years and 68 days, more than three years younger than Sebastian Vettel's record. 🏆

With Lachy still out with the man flu, KT, Huppy and Schwags preview round 19 at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez.

We cover the title maths, whether Kimi's record will ever be beaten, and who we'd mic up in the cockpit.

Then it's the track guide, what 2,240 m of thin air does to the 2026 cars (Monaco wings at Monza speeds, with no MGU-H and no DRS), Pirelli's tyres a step softer than last year (C3/C4/C5), the weekend weather, Ferrari after Austin, McLaren's "Lego car", why pole is no guarantee here, and Checo's first home race in two years, now in a Cadillac, on the Day of the Dead.

Pole, a 13-second win, number nine for the season... and Kimi still has to wait. 🏁

On episode 113 of The Downshift, KT, Huppy and Schwags (Lachy is still crook with the flu, get well soon mate) review the United States Grand Prix at the Circuit of the Americas. Kimi Antonelli did everything he could in Texas, but George Russell scraped eighth and Lewis Hamilton grabbed fourth, so the title party moves on to Mexico. We dig into the tyre offset that wasn't, Ferrari's two-stop that actually worked, McLaren swapping their cars again, and a very despondent George.

In this episode:

⏱️ The weekend in 60 seconds: Kimi's first pole since Belgium, Ferrari flat in qualifying, Bottas' car dangling from the crane

🛞 Tyre talk: soft pit window lap 20-26, medium lap 21-27. Riddle me this: where's the offset?

🏆 Results and championship impact: Kimi on 365, and a fight for second with four drivers covered by 9 points

📈 Kimi's 9 wins in 42 starts (21.4%), and Kimi v George in 2026: 9 wins to 3

🧡 McLaren swap them again ("happy to be accused of Australian bias")

😔 "I'm just not fast enough": George Russell's post-race interview, and the definition of hopeless

🔴 Ferrari's strategy masterclass, and Max's new race engineer

🔮 Predictions: how we went, and the P9 that makes Kimi champion in Mexico

00:00 Cold open

00:43 Welcome: Lachy's still crook

03:47 The weekend in 60 seconds

07:16 Tyre talk: where's the offset?

11:45 The results

13:15 Championship impact

18:45 McLaren swap them again

19:34 Despondent George

22:33 Ferrari got it right

24:00 Predictions

25:08 Wrap-up: P9 for the title

United States GP top 10

1 Antonelli, 2 Leclerc (+13.078s), 3 Verstappen, 4 Hamilton, 5 Norris, 6 Hadjar, 7 Piastri, 8 Russell, 9 Lawson, 10 Gasly. Fastest lap: Leclerc. DNFs: Bottas, Colapinto, Bearman.

Drivers' championship: Antonelli 365, Russell 242, Hamilton 241, Verstappen 236, Leclerc 233.

Constructors: Mercedes 607, Ferrari 474, Red Bull 355, McLaren 355.

Kimi is champion in Mexico with P9 or better, whatever anyone else does.

Predictions: our Austin picks are in Ep 112. The result was pole Antonelli, podium Antonelli / Leclerc / Verstappen, and 3 DNFs.

Leaderboard after Austin: Huppy 63, Lachy 54, KT 52, Schwags 38.

Join the waitlist for our free predictions app (launching 2027): predictions.thedownshift.com.au

Corrections: Leclerc, Verstappen and Hamilton made two pit stops each, not three, and Russell, Hamilton, Verstappen and Leclerc are covered by 9 points, not 14.

Mexico City GP preview coming later this week. Like and subscribe so you don't miss it. See you on the next lap!

#F1 #Formula1 #F1Podcast #TheDownshift #USGP #AustinGP #COTA #KimiAntonelli #GeorgeRussell #Ferrari #McLaren #LewisHamilton #MaxVerstappen

Everything's bigger in Texas, including the stakes. 🤠🏁

On episode 112 of The Downshift, KT, Huppy and Schwags (Lachy is still down with man flu) preview the United States Grand Prix at the Circuit of the Americas. Kimi Antonelli arrives in Austin 102 points clear of George Russell: win, with Russell P9 or lower and Hamilton P5 or lower, and he's world champion at 20, the youngest ever. We do the maths (eventually), break down COTA corner by corner, talk C2-C4 tyres and whether Pirelli should make them worse, Huppy fills in on weather, and our predictions descend into chaos.

In this episode:

🧮 Match point: exactly what Kimi needs to clinch in Austin

👶 Youngest champion ever: 20 years 61 days v Vettel's record of 23 years 134 days

🛣️ COTA track guide: Turn 1, the esses, the 1.2 km back straight, and energy deployment with no DRS

🔧 Mercedes' upgrade, and whether a complaining Max means Red Bull are quick

🛞 Tyres: C2, C3, C4, one step softer; one stop or two?

☀️ Weather: hot and dry, 29 degrees for qualifying, maybe cloudy on Sunday

🔮 Predictions: pole, podium and the DNF count (and Huppy can't pick anything)

Chapters

00:00 Cold open

00:44 Welcome: howdy from Texas

02:13 Match point: can Kimi clinch in Austin?

09:34 Circuit of the Americas: track guide and tech

18:13 Tyre talk: C2, C3, C4

20:50 Huppy's weather watch

22:27 Predictions

31:18 Session times and wrap-up

Session times (Melbourne, AEDT)

Practice 1: Saturday 4:30am

Practice 2: Saturday 8:00am

Practice 3: Sunday 4:30am

Qualifying: Sunday 8:00am

Race: Monday 7:00am

(Austin: 12:30pm and 4pm Friday and Saturday, race 3pm Sunday. London: 6:30pm and 10pm Friday and Saturday, race 8pm Sunday.)

Our predictions (pole / P1 / P2 / P3 / total DNFs)

KT: Verstappen / Verstappen / Antonelli / Hamilton / 5

Huppy: Hamilton / Hamilton / Russell / Verstappen / 4

Schwags: Piastri / Russell / Hadjar / Antonelli / 6

Lachy (picked by committee): Antonelli / Leclerc / Verstappen / Norris / 7

Predictions leaderboard after Singapore: Huppy 61, Lachy 51, KT 50, Schwags 37.

Join the waitlist for our free predictions app (launching 2027): predictions.thedownshift.com.au

Corrections: Kimi was 18 at his F1 debut, and Fernando Alonso is 45.

What would you change to improve the racing in 2027? Tell us in the comments, and if you enjoyed the episode, like and subscribe so you don't miss our Austin review. See you on the next lap!

#F1 #Formula1 #F1Podcast #TheDownshift #USGP #AustinGP #COTA #KimiAntonelli #MaxVerstappen #LewisHamilton #GeorgeRussell #F1Predictions

No race last weekend, but the paddock never sleeps. 🏎️

On episode 111 of The Downshift, KT, Huppy and Schwags (Lachy is out with man flu) run through F1's late silly season. Rafael Câmara lands the Haas seat alongside Ollie Bearman, Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll are locked in at Aston Martin, Racing Bulls have three drivers for two seats, and Red Bull have signed Laurent Mekies through to 2031. Plus: is George Russell's seat safe, and can Kimi Antonelli wrap up the title in Austin?

In this episode:

📋 The 2027 grid: who's locked in, who's sweating, and Mercedes' missing announcement

🇧🇷 Câmara to Haas: his rise to the top of F2, and why Esteban Ocon lost his seat

🐂 Three into two at Racing Bulls: Lawson v Lindblad v Tsolov, and our picks

🔥 Alonso: still not done after 443 starts (649 with Stroll), and he'll never stop

🏢 Paddock pulse: Mekies to 2031, Horner's podcast tour, Red Bull 7 points off P3, and the Middle East finale

🏁 Match point in Austin: Antonelli leads Russell by 102 with six rounds left

Chapters

00:00 Cold open

00:42 Welcome: three of us and a sick Lachy

02:12 The 2027 grid: who's locked in?

05:58 Câmara to Haas, and why Ocon lost his seat

11:01 Three into two: Racing Bulls

18:07 Alonso: still not done

22:03 Paddock pulse: Mekies to 2031 and the Middle East finale

25:39 Match point in Austin, and wrap-up

Next race: United States Grand Prix, Circuit of the Americas, Austin, 23-25 October. Our US GP preview, with the full title maths and our predictions, drops on Thursday.

Who would you keep at Racing Bulls: Lawson, Lindblad or Tsolov? Tell us in the comments, and if you enjoyed the episode, like and subscribe so you don't miss our Austin preview. See you on the next lap!

#F1 #Formula1 #F1Podcast #TheDownshift #SillySeason #F12027 #RafaelCamara #Haas #FernandoAlonso #RacingBulls #LiamLawson #GeorgeRussell #KimiAntonelli

Two McLarens, one gap, zero excuses. 🇸🇬

On episode 110 of The Downshift, Huppy, KT, Lachy and Schwags review a chaotic Singapore Grand Prix weekend. Lando Norris sent it on Oscar Piastri at Turn 5 in the wet sprint and put his teammate in the wall, and KT is still wearing his blacked-out McLaren shirt about it. Max Verstappen swept the weekend and finally won at Marina Bay at his 10th attempt, Lewis Hamilton fell from P3 to P6 in the last nine laps, and Kimi Antonelli heads to Austin 102 points clear on match point.

In this episode:

🧡 KT vs McLaren: Lando, Oscar, papaya rules and a call-out to Zak Brown and Andrea Stella

🤡 Huppy's "exclusive images": which drivers can colour inside the lines?

🏆 Max's first Marina Bay win, his 73rd win on his 250th start, and the one track he still hasn't won at

😴 The bit of the race KT slept through

🛞 How to fix the sprint: tyre offsets, more points, hat-drawn grids and kangaroos

🔴 Hamilton's VSC gamble, Stroll's 12th DNF and Russell's nightmare weekend

📊 Red Bull vs McLaren for P3 in the constructors'

🏁 Can Kimi clinch the title in Austin?

🔮 The predictions leaderboard after Singapore

Singapore GP top 10: 1 Verstappen, 2 Leclerc, 3 Antonelli, 4 Norris, 5 Piastri, 6 Hamilton, 7 Lawson, 8 Hülkenberg, 9 Russell, 10 Hadjar.

Chapters

00:00 Coming up in this episode

01:08 Welcome: a long night of motorsport

02:05 KT vs McLaren: Lando takes out Oscar

14:52 Huppy's exclusive images: colouring in the lines

17:04 Singapore weekend wrap: Max's first Marina Bay win

24:53 How to fix the sprint

29:45 Hamilton's strategy, Stroll and Russell

33:03 Max is back and the constructors' fight

37:58 Match point Kimi: can he clinch in Austin?

39:41 Predictions leaderboard

41:17 Next up: Austin, and the predictions app

Predictions leaderboard after Singapore: Huppy 61, Lachy 51, KT 50, Schwags 37.

Next race: United States Grand Prix, Circuit of the Americas, Austin, 23-25 October.

Join the waitlist for The Downshift predictions app (free tipping competition in 2027): https://predictions.thedownshift.com.au

Was Lando's move on Oscar fair game or a team-killer? Tell us in the comments, and if you enjoyed the episode, like and subscribe so you don't miss our Austin preview. See you on the next lap!

#F1 #SingaporeGP #Formula1 #F1Podcast #TheDownshift #MarinaBay #MaxVerstappen #LandoNorris #OscarPiastri #KimiAntonelli #McLaren

Under 1,600 floodlights and through 19 corners of concrete and sweat, F1's original night race faces something new: its first ever sprint. 🇸🇬

On episode 109 of The Downshift, Huppy, KT, Lachy and Schwags head back to Marina Bay, the place where this podcast was born on a boys' trip two years ago. Kimi Antonelli arrives 84 points clear and could clinch the championship this weekend. George Russell returns as defending winner needing a miracle. And Max Verstappen comes in hunting the one trophy he's never won.

In this episode:
🏁 The history of the Singapore GP, from Thomson Road to Crashgate to Sainz ending Red Bull's 2023 streak
🗺️ A corner-by-corner track guide of Marina Bay and its five straight mode zones
🛞 Pirelli's softest tyres (C3, C4, C5) and the sprint weekend squeeze
🌧️ Lachy's weather forecast: humidity, heat and the chance of a night-race downpour
🏆 Kimi's title maths, Russell's last stand and Max's missing trophy
🎨 Audi's new livery: hit or miss?
🔮 Our pole, podium and sprint winner predictions (Schwags is still picking out of a hat)
📱 First look at The Downshift predictions app, launching in 2027. Join the waitlist!

Chapters
00:00 Cold open
00:43 Welcome: Singapore, where The Downshift began
02:41 History of the Singapore GP
05:58 Track guide: Marina Bay
11:07 Tyres & strategy
13:36 Weather
15:53 Talking points: Kimi's title, Russell's last stand
17:38 Can Max finally win Singapore?
18:33 Briatore, Colapinto & Crashgate
19:13 Audi's new livery
20:26 Predictions
27:04 The Downshift predictions app
29:15 Session times
30:48 Wrap up

Who do you think takes pole, the win and the sprint in Singapore? Tell us in the comments, and if you enjoyed the episode, like and subscribe so you don't miss the race review. See you on the next lap!

#F1 #SingaporeGP #Formula1 #F1Podcast #TheDownshift #MarinaBay #KimiAntonelli #MaxVerstappen #F1Predictions

A tropical deluge, a formation lap where the cars simply stopped, slicks vs inters, and a field turned upside down 🌧️ Through it all, Max Verstappen took pole and his first win of 2026 (his 72nd career win) at the track where he won F1's last visit back in 2017. Martin Brundle called it one of the craziest races he's ever seen, and we reckon it's the race of the season.

Huppy and Schwags report from the ground at Sepang: record crowds, transport chaos, decoy water bottles and a wild Malaysian crowd. Then we break down the formation lap software drama, Piastri's inters call, Hamilton overruling Ferrari to climb to P3, Alonso's stellar drive, Lando's near miss, and George Russell's heartbreaking power unit failure with five laps to go that pushes Antonelli's lead out to 84 points with seven rounds left. Plus, how far off were our overtake predictions? Try 185 overtakes 😳

📲 Think you can out-tip us (and five AIs)? Join the waitlist for The Downshift Predictions app, launching for 2027: predictions.thedownshift.com.au

👍 Like and subscribe so you don't miss our Singapore preview, and let us know in the comments: race of the season?

#F1 #BahrainGP #Sepang #MalaysianGP #Formula1 #TheDownshift

Nine years ago, a 20-year-old Max Verstappen won what we thought was F1's last race at Sepang. Now F1 is back in Malaysia… to run the Bahrain Grand Prix 🤯 With Bahrain and Saudi Arabia cancelled earlier in the year, Sepang steps in, and more than half the grid has never raced there.

We cover how this unusual race came about, Huppy's memories from the 2017 race, a full track walkthrough, tyre choices, a stormy forecast with up to 80% chance of rain in qualifying, the Sepang veterans vs debutants, and whether Russell can turn Baku momentum into a real title fight against Antonelli's 66-point lead.

Plus, the predictions get chaotic when Schwags' lucky hat strikes again 🎩

Huppy and Schwags are heading to Sepang as our official correspondents, so stay tuned for updates from the track!📲

Want to take us on? Join the waitlist for The Downshift Predictions app, launching for the 2027 season:

predictions.thedownshift.com.au

Like and subscribe, and drop your Sepang predictions in the comments!

#F1 #BahrainGP #Sepang #MalaysianGP #Formula1 #TheDownshift

George Russell reclaims his Mr Saturday title in Baku 🏆 Pole by a massive 0.83s (the biggest gap in about a decade), leading every lap, then hanging on by just 0.196s as a charging Max Verstappen closed in with no turbo power on the final run to the line.

Add Red Bull's first double podium since April 2024, and Antonelli's title lead shrinks to 66 points with eight rounds to go.

Plus: Kimi's Q1 wall clout, Colapinto's ten-pin bowling restart that took out Gasly and Norris, Lindblad taking out his teammate, Piastri's heartbreak, the Bottas crash that somehow didn't bring a safety car, Leclerc's engine slip, Aston Martin's woes, and whether the broadcast is ignoring the midfield. And of course, the predictions leaderboard gets a shake-up 😂

👍 Like and subscribe so you don't miss an episode, and drop your Sepang predictions in the comments!

#F1 #AzerbaijanGP #BakuGP #Formula1 #TheDownshift

The DownShift is heading to Baku — and this one could get seriously interesting! 🇦🇿🏁

Episode 105 previews the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, where a 2.2km flat-out straight, a seven-metre-wide castle section and Baku's notorious walls could create the perfect recipe for F1 chaos.

Kimmy Antonelli arrives with an 81-point championship lead, while Lando Norris continues to rack up pole positions without converting enough of them into wins. Max Verstappen is still searching for his first F1 victory of 2026 despite five podiums in his last seven races, while Charles Leclerc heads to one of his favourite circuits with a potential Ferrari engine penalty hanging over his weekend.

The team breaks down the unique challenges of Baku — low downforce, tyre temperatures, energy deployment, slipstream tactics, track evolution, wind and the possibility of safety cars — before making their predictions for pole, the podium and the weekend's wildcard.

And there's plenty happening away from Baku too:

🏎️ The 2027 F1 calendar is here
🇦🇺 Australia moves to Round 3
🏁 Portugal and Turkey return
🔄 Spa and Barcelona begin rotating
🎟️ Melbourne's new Australian Grand Prix membership and ticketing model comes under the microscope
👀 Aston Martin's 2027 driver lineup is questioned following comments from Martin Brundle
🔴 Ferrari face a potentially crucial decision over Charles Leclerc's engine

Plus, as always, the boys throw in their completely unbiased, highly scientific Baku predictions… which may already require an emergency meeting after FP1.

The DownShift — F1 talk, opinions, laughs and plenty of questionable predictions.