PERFORMANCE TALK

Bryson Sullivan joins Wolf pack to chop it up on wild season events in 2024. There has been a big surprise this season. Red Bull isn't winning every race, max is crying on the radio, GP is standing up for himself and Perez still has a job. But more surprisingly, Mercedes has managed to find performance and the McLaren the Mercedes customer team is leading a new charge.

The Miami GP promoter says there's a misunderstanding as to the prices of the food at the Miami GP.  But, it sounds like maybe there was some wiggle room to charge people high prices unless contested about the level of service.

McLaren cause some disappointment, confusion and more with their stunt of hosting Trump. Trump has discriminated against Black Americans, disrespected woman, caught in criminal acts and backhand deals. Are the values and character of McLaren more aligned than we think?

Formula and Liberty Media took a crap on the home team. While the foreign based FIA gave the green light for Andretti to enter Formula 1. The United States Congress steps in to give Formula 1 a bit of checking. How will this fair for Andretti?

Newey has grown tired of the toxic Red Bull antics and has decided to depart. What teams have a chance to land Newey in the sweepstakes? How much longer will Mercedes continue to fall from the championship mountain?

Deni aka FIA Girly pulls up and chops it up with J Wolf Pack about the Mercedes shenanigans. The new regulations on the horizon and how they will impact teams. Also, diving into the robust criticism thrown at Lewis Hamilton and the Mercedes under performing season. Like no one else exist on the grid. And a little TP role play!  

Lance Stroll is beyond undertalented to be in Formula 1. Thank goodness he has a paid seat or he would get bounced. But, is Lawrence Stroll handicapping his team for the relationship with his son Lance Stroll? Toto Mercedes boss is talking fly at the mouth about what's more important and what position isn't. Maybe Toto's position is up for grabs.

Wolf Pack, Apex Takeover and Imani Cards dive into the Japanese GP and turn TFU! Talking drivers, teams and who's on the exit. Set your volume and get ready for some punchy moments.

Seems Christian Horner may have done something inappropriate to a fellow Red Bull employee and is now under investigation. Not by Red Bull F1, but the parent company and the deployment of a third party organization to conduct the investigation. Andretti is completely slammed out with a suspected reapplication date of 2028. Formula 1 refuse to allow another team into Formula 1, all while tolerating the lack of competitiveness from HAAS. HAAS hasn't added much of any value to F1 more than F1 has definitely added to them. So, why does Formula 1 choose to outline ridiculous statements as to why they aren't accepting Andretti.

Nothing like using Lewis Hamilton's name for the sake of news. Again before we even have one race in 2024, they're are widespread rumors of Lewis leaving Mercedes and going to Ferrari. Is it true? On the other hand a real thing to deal with is the lack luster ownership of HAAS racing!

Red Bull had a stimulus scandal that lead to Max becoming a WDC in 2021. Since then Red Bull have also manage to cheat the other 8 teams as Red Bull spent more to gain a competitive advantage, breaking the Cost Cap Regs. 2023 may have been Red Bulls legit season, although some would debate the trickle down effect of their previous rule breaking. But, it is no doubt they have manage to make likely the most dominant care in F1 history and other teams have not been able to consistently compete without favorable situations. So, who in 2024 will be the team to clinch second in the WDC and or the WCC? 

The 2024 season has officially begun with car and livery reveals. The Oracle Red Bull Racing team has decided to make it know they have two teams, four drivers and four cars competing on the F1 grids. They rebrand the team formally known as AlphaTauri, RB Visa Cash App. That is not only a unattractive name. But, it's a name that clearly indicates Red Bull have control of more than Red Bull Racing.

People have to be absolutely under a rock if they think not one driver on the grid wear a label as a brand. So, for individuals involved with the Red Bull team to say Lewis is a brand and Max is a driver is ridiculous. And, may indicate some real jealousy hate. Lewis is.....

Gunther the quote man is out of there. And, I'm not speaking in MLB terms. Gunther is not going to the bench or coming back into play. Gunther has been sacked.  But, was it all to blame on Gunther or is the Owner Gene HAAS more to blame for the failures of the HAAS F1 team.

These F1 names are getting elaborate and long in the tooth. Red Bull is being disrespectful and blatantly letting the world know they do have two teams. AlphaTauri changes to RB Visa CashApp. Say that three times three times. Drake is not going to save Sauber in another season that likely will be abysmal. People likely 

Well, damn! It was a real thing. Lewis is out and headed to Ferrari in 2025. What kind of after effects will this MEGA bombshell have? The driver market will be crazy, driver movement will be a debacle and teams will be scrambling to get their futures in check.

The 2023 season was a bit monotone. But there were surely things to pay attention to and be on notice about. Logan likely was auditioning for soapbox racing. But, gets another chance due to several variables in the market. Lewis showed he is still that guy in Mercedes and George is a newb. Max and Mark disrespect Perez throughout the season. What else is new!

McLaren Zak Brown voices his disagreement with Formula 1 allowing Red Bull Racing to have multiple teams, cars and drivers competing in F1. Zak speaks to a conflict of interest I believe we all have seen play out on grand prix weekends. There have even bee direction flowing from Red Bull leadership to AlphaTauri drivers to block other drivers on track. Will Formula 1 do anything to right this ship?

Teams and Drivers are so Lewis centric. Everything Lewis does is over exaggerated in comparison to others in the sport. But the old saying is, "Heavy is the head that wears the crown!". Maybe Lewis Hamilton is considering leaving more behind than a 3rd place trophy. We'll see this season!

Guest Fam Thanos pulls up for another kickback session with J from Wolf Pack Performance. So you already know it's going to be a full throttle conversation with fine points thrown. Lewis remaining to be a gentleman about his departure is on the board. Christian not keeping his hands to himself is on the map. And, Andretti staging a Miami Koo is a focus!

J Wolf Pack and Tonya of Apex Takeover Podcast talk about the latest and biggest news thus far of the 2024 season. Lewis and Toto will part ways as Lewis Hamilton makes his way to Ferrari in 2025. Where will the absence of a great driver like Lewis Hamilton leave Mercedes as far as their driver lineup? Who will fill the seat, who will want the seat and will Russell lead the team? Big questions to be answered

J of Wolf Pack Performance and Tonya of Apex Takeover chop it up about what they expect from the 2024 Formula 1 season. Will drivers bring more competitive actions against RBR on track? Will the teams gain more of a grasp on the regs to improve their WCC standings for 2024? Will the CEO and TP call the right shots to put their teams in better positions. I don't know about you. But, I'm interested to see how the views of DTS go this coming up season as well.

Willy T. Ribbs pulls up with J for a Performance Talk episode. We're going to dive into Willy's life journey in the motorsports world. The harsh racism he stood up against to breakdown barriers that cracked doors for Lewis Hamilton and others to be viewed as equals to more than when Willy was pioneering in motorsports. We discuss his championship in formula Ford and how his own country suppressed and fought against him every step of the way.

The FIA and Formula 1 have been going at each other. Things are getting inflamed especially after the recent attacks on Mercedes' Susie & Toto Wolff. Then the FIA sided with Andretti Racing's entry, while Formula 1 teams are against it. The F1 teams seem to be in fear of competition and a bit short sided by writing off the positive impact Andretti can have financially.

Would there ever be a scenario where Lewis and Max could be paired together. Uh, let's discuss that and the parallel universe it would likely happen in. The Sprint Race schedule looks promising and I'm personally glad to see there aren't more than six this season. Logan Sargeant is blessed to be in Formula 1 for another season. What will he do with this under deserved opportunity? Bottas is at again with his cheeks printed on canvas. Ben has been known to disrespect women and now involved in targeting Susie Wolff, what is to be done about his position in the FIA.

Some of these races have been a bit dull. But, qualifying has been a gem this season. Let's go over some key moments in the Brazilian Grand Prix.

Max continues to break and bend the rules. The FIA continue to seem compromised since 2021 when it comes to Max and the RBR team. When will the ridiculousness stop? Who knows! Maybe when they've insured Max will claim all records and superseding Lewis Hamilton as the face of F!.

Finally Mercedes bring an end to their long drawn out goodbye to Mike Elliott for his portion of the horrendous development of the W13 & W14. This Mercedes fumble in development cost Lewis Hamilton two whole season of his legendary career. Due to Mercedes providing their drivers with a horrible car, Lewis hasn't had a race win in two seasons as well. Liam Lawson comes into the AlphaTauri Red Bull team garage and out performs DeVries & Ricciardo in a few races. Yet, Red Bull Racing choose to put Daniel back in the seat. What are we missing?

J of WPP and Tasha host of the QSTF! Saturday show discuss some hot things happening in Formula 1. The FIA have decided to take a shot at the Queen of Mercedes, Susie Wolff and it doesn't go well. Logan Sargeant gets another shot at his Formula 1 career and it could go more south than the Florida tip. Tasha ranks three teams for 2024 and gives an explanation for their performance to come.

The Mexico GRand Prix had some moments in it for sure. Max continues to believe things are all about him. Checo goes Mad Max and ruins the race for his fans. Fans go crazy and start fighting. Pick one of many things that happen in the Mexico GP. But, don't point out that Lance Stroll is still subpar. Lawrence Stroll isn't trying to hear it.

There were some moments where many fans had reason to believe maybe a moment of ahhhh was in the works from Mercedes. On the other side of the paddock. Plenty of Checo fans had reason to be disappointed in Red Bull Racing and Perez. Checo takes it to the max and ruins his race in the opening lap of his home GP.

Red Bull are reported to have acquired extra security for Max Verstappen while in Mexico. In my opinion, you don't need extra security if you didn't do anything wrong or someone isn't after you for a specific reason. Red Bull via Helmut Marko, Max Verstappen and Christian Horner have created their own situation as to fearing the Mexico citizens. Helmut has made racially toned remarks about the Mexican people. Helmut has been disrespectful in the public to Sergio Perez, the Red Bull Racing driver. Max has shown he doesn't respect Perez as an equal. Christian has been seen as the little mastermind behind the scenes and less supportive for Checo as Perez was in close contention for the lead in the WDC. They wanted to feel safe, because they knew they had done wrong. And, let's be real! Mexicans are a proud cultural people with the gumption to take action!  

It's already bad enough Mercedes has built a car that crippled Lewis Hamilton's comeback tour. But, Mercedes have done it now for multiple seasons following the 2021 AD scandal. Now, the world is watching as Mercedes have subpar pitstops, fumbling strategies and a lack of initiative when it comes to petitioning some of the FIA shenanigans.  Lewis may seem very confident in Mercedes. And, I don't doubt he is. But, the fans are suspect of Mercedes and Russell for good reasons.  Hopefully Mercedes prove true as they have before!

It seems that Max and RBR have some complaint every GP on the back half of the season. I think RBR and Max are trying to make things seem more challenging. But, there really not. Maybe the season is even boring to them as it is to many fans.

I decided that F1 doesn't do enough to include the fans or capture fan opinions. So, I set out while at the Texas USGP and mingled with many fans that support different teams and or drivers. Here's what they had to say!

The Qatar GP was one of the most eventful race weekends this season. There was so much going on from FP all the way to Race Day! Mercedes's drivers Lewis and Russell again find themselves making contact. But, this time they made contact where it counts most. There is blame to be shared in regards to Lewis and Russell making contact. But, it seems there were team plans put in place and one driver may not have adhered to those plans. Logan Sargeant quit the race. but, not before he took the car off track again earlier in the race weekend. Logan was dehydrated and cleared by the medical staff shortly after the race. Meanwhile Ocon completed the race and puked in his helmet while doing so. Tolerance and determination anyone! Perez delivers another lack luster performance and topped it off with some penalties due to track limits. Ferrari seem to be falling backwards again this season. Lance Stroll decides to launch his steering wheel in self inflicted anger. Yeah! Qatar was one of those!

The Qatar GP was a very eventful race weekend. In more disheartened ways than wanted. But, it was peppered with awesome moments, especially via Oscar Piastri as he shined again. Oscar collected pole position for the sprint race, won the sprint race and then collected another race Sunday podium. The Mercedes team had a debacle of a race start and challenging weekend. Russell claims he never saw Hamilton on the start. but, Russell CTFO you literally pushed Lewis over several times hoping to beat Lewis and Max to the corner. And, damn it Hamilton! When will you learn? You can't trust Russell to follow team plans or yield to give you the right of way although you have the winning pace. Logan Sargeant, driver for Williams Racing once again finds himself off track and in kitty litter corner, Lance tries to make us all believe he is really upset about his performance. And, Perez is just checking out of RBR mentally as he collects several penalties.

Again the goal is set and moved for Andretti Global. The FIA have now approved for Andretti to move forward. But, 10 teams and Formula 1 seem to be against welcoming the new competition. We are almost in sight of Audi entering F1. Seems every part of Formula 1 was embracing of Porsche entering as well. But, there seems to be a grudge against this American based and true team to enter.

We have another hot live caller episode. This is where you become part of the content creation on several current F1 topics. We get into Williams Racing and the challenge James Vowles has set in motion for rookie driver Logan Sargeant. Will James keep Logan around as a driver for 2024? That is the big question. If Logan finishes out the season collecting a few more DNF due to collisions. Likely not IMO! Red Bull AlphaTauri have a driver debacle brewing as Liam Lawson has proven better goods than DeVries & Daniel Ricciardo. But, they decide to back seat Liam to reserve driver role and slot Danny in for the seat going forward. Liam Lawson is the only driver other than Yuki to add points during this 2023 season. Why have they done this to Liam? Lewis Hamilton is the greatest Formula 1 driver and it seems many are quick to rush him out the door. This could be for several reasons and none that are directly related to his current ability. We'll leave that for a different episode. Lewis has managed to bring team Mercedes several podiums in this 2023 season. And, Lewis has managed to be on podium all while being supplied a subpar Mercedes W14 car.

Logan Sargeant is the most recent American Formula 1 driver to take the grid. But, Logan is making this season's debut a rough one. Recently James Vowles and Williams Racing released a social media post in regards to Logan's performance and mishaps. The key message was very clear. There are targets set and a deadline to be made. Latifi has been long gone from team Williams and it doesn't seem as if he's gone anywhere. Logan Sargeant has not taken up any slack for the team. Logan has damaged several cars and at several events this 2023 season. In a cost cap era, this isn't helping Williams progress forward. Logan is being even more inspected due to the other rookies on the grid performing well for their Formula 1 teams. It's time for Logan to get it together or get out. I'm hoping he can get it together.

Some say, Mercedes customer teams are doing better with Mercedes parts, than Mercedes themselves. Is this really true or does it just look different for Aston Martin and McLaren Racing? Let's add some things up and see. Williams Racing have a decision to make going forward with Logan Sargeant. Give Logan extreme room to run up more of a repair bill or cut loose and grab another driver to manage. Alex Albon is showing Williams what their FW45 car is capable of. They need to consider the other examples of evidence sprinkled throughout the grid. Like, Lawson and Piastri.

We drop in with another hot "Performance Talk" episode with guest FIA Girly. We dive into why and why aren't drivers the greatest. We had to discuss Lawrence Stroll and the relationship that is wrecking Aston Martin's winning future. Then, we point the focus on the rookies and how standards have changed. Also, how Logan is under preforming in this new rookie environment. From there we just turn all the way up!

Oh my goodness! Some drivers made cases for themselves, that not even the DA could have done a better job. Perez was literally out there in the Japanese GP playing bumper cars. He clipped Lewis and then proceeded to spin Kevin from team HAAS. George decides that the team game is not his thing. Dive bombs Lewis, nearly causing a Mercedes double DNF. Following that, Lewis gives Russell a taste of his own medicine down the main straight and swooping turn by running George wide.  Logan Sargeant Not, made a statement pretty much outlining that he would do better and that's been a fib. Logan took the opportunity to cause damage before and during the actual race. To make things worse, he ended Valtteri's race. Which Alfa Romeo already have a load of their own problems to deal with. But, big shout out to Oscar Piastri from McLaren! Scoring his first podium as a rookie!

The best of the rest is looking to be surely mixed. But, one thing for sure is! McLaren are the current popping Mercedes customer team. Lando & Oscar land some nice laps to put them on the podium radar. Mercedes seem to be struggling again with this W14 and I'm not sure there's much hope for the W15 coming next season. But, there could be a resurgence. Red Bull have floor swaps going on and finally issue both drivers the same floor. What kind of floor that is, is uncertain. What is certain, is we'll see some flyers from Max. What's not certain, is what we'll see from Perez. Ferrari seem to be a bit weaker here in Japan, versus their showing in Singapore! That, just that!

Goin into his race weekend there are many questions to be answered. Has Red Bull been derailed by technical directives or team developments? Will McLaren show up and convert updates into more podiums? Will Liam Lawson contribute to the new expectations of what rookies will be expected to do when landing a Formula 1 seat? Lets kick this off.

The Singapore GP was definitely in rare form. The Marina Bay circuit has been perceived to many of us as a Monaco night race. Little overtakes and  an over hyped night race under the lights. Well... This 2023 Singapore Grand Prix was an event that kept giving from Free Practice, Qualifying and all the way to the end of Race Day Sunday. Red Bull Racing struggled following the Helmut Marko debacle and some tweaks to technical directives. Max could not overcome a little adversity in car setup. Max failed to collect another pole position and then had to compete throughout the race to end up off the podium. Ferrari was indeed surprising. Calling good strategy, solid pit stops and car performance seem to couple well with the Marina Bay circuit. This Ferrari performance lead to Carlos collecting another pole position and a race win, putting a stop to the Max Verstappen race winning streak. Mercedes had an advantage this weekend, that no other team had in their tyre arsenal. Both Lewis Hamilton and George Russell had two nice sets of mediums to use at their disposal. Things seem to be going well, until they didn't. Russell in the final laps of the race, decided to push his agenda and ended up pushing into a wall. leaving Hamilton alone to collect another podium and points for Mercedes. Let's talk all about it.

The Singapore Grand Prix was in rare entertaining form this weekend. The circuit was modified from it's previous layout and majority of the drivers declined the addition of another DRS zone. This indeed may have been an ingredient among many to add to this competitive race weekend. Max Verstappen and Red Bull again were unable to get around tyre challenges as they have before during ATA race weekends. Max missed pole position and the podium in the 2023 Singapore GP. Max was booted in Q2 by recent to the grid rookie Liam Lawson. And, Max almost missed having at least a top 5 finish for the final race result. George Russell during the final laps of the race nearly cost his team a podium position. But, fortunately for the team and Lewis Hamilton, George just wrecked himself out. Many feel that GR once again was more about ego, than team and it cost him. Lewis Hamilton was in position to collect podium and did so. Lewis adding to that F1 historical record of podium race finishes was a nice way to close the race weekend. Ferrari definitely surprised the F1 world with their performance, strategy and Carlos collecting a race win. But, is there a shift happening in the driver hierarchy? Is Carlos becoming the number one driver for Ferrari?

What a surprise we all got during the early sessions of Singapore qualifying. Max Verstappen started to unravel and return to true Max Verstappen form as he was unable to adjust to the RB19 being slightly out of it's perfect setup window. This may indeed be an indictment on Max's ability to adjust to a car that not completely developed to his driving style. Many have criticized Checo for under performing as the RB19 has developed away from him during the season. They have also used Checo's under performing to boost Max's performance. Well this week in Singapore, the F1 talking head DC decides to change direction. DC states that Max being eliminated in Q2 isn't so bad since his teammate Checo didn't make it either. Interesting! Has he TD affected Red Bull Racing or is this just their consistent inability to adjust to the tyre challenges this season. Max has failed to collect pole positions during both ATA weekends and now during a Marina Bay circuit with environmental conditions that challenge the tyre strategy.

The Singapore GP is one of the most anticipated races throughout the calendar season. It's the only night race and the first Formula 1 night race. And, that hype quickly ends once the lights go out on Sunday. The excitement can be observed during FP sessions as lizards randomly obstruct the drivers on track. The views are awesome around the circuit. But, the hype lowers on race day. I'm not for removing Singapore. But, I'm not jumping up and down to keep it either. The Marina Bay Circuit does offer the photographers opportunity to snap some awesome pictures as the cars spark up the city streets. Helmut Marko has received a small insignificant warning from the FIA. that's not doing much at all. Perez seems to be okay with being disrespected by Helmut. That's a damn shame. I'm sure proud people that support Perez don't care for that jelly fish reaction. But, it's his choice and says something about why we see what we see when Red Bull Racing do what they do to Perez.

Helmut Marko release a statement about his recent disrespectful racial and or cultural tones towards Sergio Perez. For some reason he chose to list his doctorate title while doing so. By the way, Helmut's doctorate is in law. Not  psychology or any other study that would qualify him to make such judgements he made in regards to Perez. And, if Helmut held a doctorate in one of those studies. Surely Helmut would have known his thought process was incorrect before launching the words into the world. But, Helmut Marko's supposed apology statement revealed no accountability for what he had said about Checo and our a cultural group of people. Even worse, Helmut said Sergio could focus because he was South American. What! Sergio Perez is Mexican! It seems to be this coddling for Red Bull Racing in this situation by Sky Sports and Formula 1 talking heads. I didn't hear or see anyone of the main characters we know to be in front of the camera for weekend warm ups, FP sessions and other episodes as the race week builds. A few journalist from other outlets posed some questions. But, they directed those questions to whom.... I'll let you guess who! Seems like an on going problem.

Many of us have been awaiting any update as to what was going on with the cost cap results for the F1 2022 season. The FIA seemed oddly quiet and less transparent about the cost cap this time around. Seeing how the FIA had the current dominant team (Red Bull Racing) breach the previous season. Many of us thought we would receive updates time to time leading up to the certificates being issued. But, nope! The FIA and F1 release to main outlets that all teams have received their certificates and are in compliance. No one exceeded the cost cap. Okay! This is good news. So, why not more tooting of the horn for such a major accomplishment in this era of Formula 1? How do you feel?