The Dirty Side Formula 1 Podcast

Ah, Barcelona. City of culture, architecture, romance, and processional high-downforce racetracks with too much run-off. The fifth race of the season brought us a massive reversal from pre-season testing just 11 weeks prior, providing a venue for Mercedes to place their ascendancy beyond a shadow of a doubt and for Ferrari to rival the angel Lucifer in their fall from grace. More Mercs at the front, another boring Lewis clinic on managing a lead, a Bottas who forgot to eat his porridge at the start, and the latest installment in Ferrari's strategy comedy of errors. Oh, and an angry Guenther Steiner on the radio. Oh Barcelona, we don't know why we ever think you'll change.

Bahrain silenced all pre-season debate: Leclerc is the real deal. Having thrown down an unmistakable and thorough annihilation of his teammate (and the rest of the field), Charles' maiden victory was cruelly snatched from his outstretched arms by F1 engine gremlins in a race that delivered lights to flag action on track, another ghastly Gasly performance, and a mysterious kill switch that scuttled both Ricciardo's and Hulk's Renaults on the exact same lap.

Rising from the ashes of his 2018 season, Bottas emerges from his deep forest walkabout sporting a beard that's granted him obvious superpowers. Melbourne brought us a good ol' fashioned Hamilton-spanking, some grotesquely bottom-feeding Ferraris, an inexplicable stinker of a drive from Gasly, impressive showings from both Haases and the Alfa of Kimi Raikkonen, and an anything-but-triumphant Renault debut by our boy Ricciardo. And get this... No. Safety. Car. I know, right?

Abu Dhabi marked the end of a spectacular season in glaringly flaccid fashion. Championships already wrapped, the day-to-night affair brought more schoolyard grudge match between Verstappen and Ocon and showcased Red Bull's flagrant robbing of Ricciardo, flying Hulkenberg halos, and yet another Hamilton win to inch us one step closer to a sport as boring as it was under Schumacher's reign of terror.

Exciting, exceptional, and somehow unsatisfying. Interlagos brought us Monza-seque on track action, a storming drive by Verstappen, a cornucopia of overtakes, erratic team orders, a silver chicane in Mercedes colors, the year's most talked about crash controversy, and a full-blown schoolyard scuffle.

This is the way Vettel's championship ends. Mexico brings us the typical combo of terrible grip, low downforce, and twitchy back ends, with nary a safety car or backmarker shunt to spice up this baseball stadium-laden travesty of a track. Max's star continues to shoot, Ricciardo falls prey to spiteful gods yet again, and Will Smith decides he's relevant to Formula 1. Oh, and Hamilton wins the championship by rolling home in one piece.

Good ol' Murica shows us it can still put on a proper motor race from time to time. Slack-jawed F1 faithful the world over watch as several miracles occur in quick succession: Ferrari get their strategy right, the Iceman of old descends as if from the heavens to give us the most feel-good win in recent years, and a disgruntled Max in a child's halloween costume surges forth from 18th to damn near win the race. Oh, and Vettel manages to keep himself mathematically alive by dispatching Hamilton's ineffectual teammate on the last lap.

In a world where Hartley qualifies sixth, one man stands between a Mercedes yawnfest and an actual driver's title challenge. That man... is not Sebastian Vettel. Suzuka saw about 17,000 overtakes, Mad Max with his apex elbows out, a resurgent Ricciardo slicing through the midfield like a samurai, and a top four in green and blue.

The FIA serves us up another tasty cure for insomnia with the steaming pile of boredom that was Sochi 2018. Two lame retirements and one lockup was about as much as we got from a race whose highlight was a jilted Paul di Resta and a very mighty guest in the podium waiting room.

Who knew that such a colossal snoozer could inspire such profound debate, polarize so much opinion, and regale us with more radio entertainment than an Orson Welles jam? Oh, and Grosjean. Always Grosjean. Is he seriously not grounded yet?

We can't believe it either, but this may have been the best race of the year! Qualifying drama, returns to form, disgruntled title contenders, strategy feints, strategy blunders, pincer movements, using aero as a weapon, relentless hunting, and battles at the front! WTF, Monza.

Oh, Spa... how you disappointed and infuriated us. But we can never stop loving you -- and you know it. In this episode, we cover the mayhem of Hulkengate 2018, and talk about how Kimi was screwed over by bonehead strategists.