2 Soft Compounds

Jeddah Jitters: McLaren Dominance and Red Bull's Identity Crisis

• W4 Podcast Studio & GrandPrix247 • Season 1 • Episode 11

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Jeddah Jitters: McLaren Dominance and Red Bull's Identity Crisis

🏎️ Jeddah Jitters! This week the 2 Soft Compounds team is revved up as F1 heads to Saudi Arabia with the balance of power shifting before our eyes. Hosts Rick Houghton and Paul Velasco discuss McLaren’s rise as Red Bull stumbles into the kind of meltdown Jos Verstappen warned about a year ago.

🧡 The guys also discuss Piastri’s brilliance in Bahrain with the pressure now on Norris to fight back and ask the question, does he have the killer instinct to match Oscar’s cool precision? 

🚨 Plus they debate the rumours fueled by Montoya's comments that Max won’t be at Red Bull next year. Will Christian Horner’s leadership survive? Is this the start of a full-blown collapse?

🔥 Next up, it’s Jeddah - the walls are close, the pace is insane and chaos is pretty much guaranteed. Can Ferrari and Mercedes close the gap? Is this the new F1 order? 

Big questions, bold takes, and all-out chaos — this is Two Soft Compounds.


Podcast Rundown

1️⃣ Welcome and Red Bull update 

2️⃣ Predictions for Jeddah Grand Prix 

3️⃣ McLaren dominance and Norris struggles 

4️⃣ Current team performances and standings 

5️⃣ Ferrari challenges and Hamilton's adaptation 

6️⃣ F1 team breakdowns and standings 

7️⃣ Race predictions and final thoughts 

Production Credits:

Presented by: Rick Houghton & Paul Velasco
Studio Engineer & Editor: Roy D'Monte
Executive Producer: Ian Carless
Produced by: GrandPrix247 & W4 Podcast Studio

Rick Houghton:

Thank you you welcome to another podcast. It's two soft compounds with me r Rick and Paul Velasco, the chief editor and founder of GrandPrix247.com. Paul, we're heading to Jeddah, saudi Arabia. It's the third race of a triple header, so they've been coming thick and fast this Easter weekend. We're off to the desert once again Now. I know, based on last week's podcast, you wanted to touch before we get into the content on Jeddah and the upcoming Grand Prix. You wanted to touch before we get into the content on Jeddah and the upcoming Grand Prix. You wanted to talk about your feelings towards Red Bull and Christian Horner, and there've been some interesting quotes, haven't there from people like Juan Pablo Montoya this week.

Paul Velasco:

Well, before we get there, I will explain. I was in Paris for a marathon. I was quite hyped and we did the podcast. I was sitting in a kitchen, so you know I got a bit excited and I thought to myself maybe I was too harsh on Red Bull, maybe I was too harsh on Christian Horner. And I thought to myself you know what, either way, I have to do some due diligence on this and actually decide if I'm going to apologize or not, because you know, sometimes I get emotional. This is a sport, you know, at the end of the day. So when I said Red Bulls exploding, I felt guilty and I did that whole research thing and some due diligence. When I said exploding, imploding, I remember someone actually said something similar. Who was that? It was Jos Verstappen.

Paul Velasco:

Last year, jos Verstappen said he predicted Red Bulls collapse. His words were this there is tension here. While he he being Christian Horner remains in this position, the team is in danger of being torn apart. It cannot go on this way. It will explode. He is playing the victim when he is the one causing the problems. That's a year ago. He's fucking right. Okay, look at the situation now. New year, boom, boom, boom. We've talked about it in the previous podcast. They're all gone. Now New E boom, boom, boom. We've talked about it in the previous podcast, they're all gone. So this team is actually on the down. And then you know what? Eh, the racing gods always send some good shit down.

Paul Velasco:

Montoya this morning on our post, and the post is on our website and says Montoya, I'd be amazed if Verstappen is driving for Red Bull next year, next year. He's hopping already. He's got some theories about Mercedes throwing the bank at him, but what I want to say is that I was not wrong. That team is exploding. And a final word to Montoya, who's to me, he's the high priest of Formula 1. I love him. Yeah, me too. It's the beginning of the end of Max Verstappen at Red Bull. For sure, it is no-transcript and the number was insane. Max needs to make a decision. Do I want to be in the best car or do I want to make a ton of money? So there we have it. On the Horner thing, he's broken the team. He hasn't imploded, it's broken now. And Monty came out and verified it. Okay, let's hit Jeddah. Man, I can't wait. This season's got me so pumped, eh.

Rick Houghton:

Yeah, me too. I mean, I thought Bahrain was fantastic. I thought it was the first race this season that we've seen so far where there was genuine overtaking, there was genuine lunges into apexes, there was genuine defending. I thought it was great. Uh, so we're on to jeddah, one of the fastest circuits on the calendar. It's a street circuit, essentially, so it's lined with hard concrete walls. I often wonder to myself, when we get to jeddah, who's going to be the first person to put it in the wall? Because it always happens. It happens in practice. Landstroll, landstroll okay, I like that you made. It always happens. It happens in practice. Land stroll okay, I like that you made. A call um. It happens in qualifying and it always happens in the race too. There's a strong possibility of safety car and a red flag in this race. It makes it really exciting and it's so fast, this circuit, I think anything's possible in saudi and I'm really pleased to see initiatives happening there.

Paul Velasco:

like Sebastian Vettel with ladies Imagine a Westerner 10 years ago with ladies You'd be shocked. Anyway, like him, they're teaching them how to go-kart. I thought that was beautiful. Also, we reported that Agnes Kalia, our at the track, was actually interviewing Seb. So yeah, I love that fact that in the country's opening up and all, I just hope it's all good stuff yeah.

Rick Houghton:

So when we go well, you head towards this, this Grand Prix, and obviously you know McLaren are clear favorites once again. But Norris needs to seek a response to Piastri showing in Bahrain, because Piastri was was clearly the clearly the dominant one of the two drivers. Lando Norris, I think you know we discussed this with Jad on the last podcast. Lando Norris needs to get his head in the right place. He needs to become more aggressive. He needs to become more animal instinct led when he gets into the car and he puts the helmet on. He needs a bit of red mist and so far this season he hasn't really had that. And we look end of the day.

Paul Velasco:

He has to be hardcore. Yeah, okay, he has to be hardcore?

Rick Houghton:

yeah, definitely we, we. We said, you know, last season he could have won the world championship if he'd have had that hardcore edge. So that's something to look forward to this weekend. Because I think Zac Brown is quietly confident that both of his drivers are going to perform throughout the season. I think he's a little bit worried if it gets to the case where he's having to choose one driver over the other because they don't really like team orders at McLaren.

Rick Houghton:

But he knows he's not stupid. He knows he's going to have to go there if it becomes apparent that one is much more advantageous than the other. And I think Norris needs to get his head in the game there because he needs to be able to go up to Zach and say hey, this is my opportunity, not just Oscar's, it's my opportunity this season. And I need the backing from you and I need the backing from the rest of the team. At the moment, based on the showing so far this season, I don't know if he can make that statement to zach. I don't know if he can go up to him and say zach, it's lando, what the hell are you doing?

Paul Velasco:

I don't think he can really do that no, no, I think it's going to be zach saying hey, lando, what the hell are you doing? Yeah, maybe, yeah, yeah, you know zach didn't wasn't driving the car when it lurched forward, unless zach's got a greater control. No, seriously, I don't think. I think, if questions are asked, it's of Norris. You know, the car's perfect, the strategy seems good, pit stops are amazing, but, like Red Bull, were a year ago or two years ago and you know what? Interestingly, it's what again, what Grand Prix 247 editor, jad Malik, said when he guessed it is that Maybe this McLaren is now peaking, much like the Red Bulls of New Year peaked, and only one guy can get to drive it. Good. So is Norris suddenly going to become the Perez of this team? I doubt it. I personally doubt it.

Paul Velasco:

But look, same Jad wrote a story about Weber reflecting on Piastri, and the headline's very simple Just keep learning. Yeah, I think that's him being polite, but off the record, he said learning and kick his ass big time. Yeah, and that's what's happening. I think that's what he'll do in jeddah. He'll say bring it on and look if lando's peaked and piastri keeps growing, which I believe, piastri will continue growing uh, norris, well, he's, he's, he's at a bit of a plateau now.

Rick Houghton:

Let's see if he can move it up and I think the interesting thing to to remember about this season in particular is that normally what happens when you have a car that's dominant at the start of the season, that's fine, and we saw it last year with the red bull dominant for the first seven races and then the other teams develop as the year goes and they bring upgrades and they bring improvements to the car and then midway through the season it's more of an equal playing field and we saw that last year with McLaren, who became a dominant car towards the end of the season.

Rick Houghton:

This year we're not going to get that because none of the teams are working on the 25 car, they're all working on the 26 car for the regulation changes. So McLaren could start dominant and remain dominant for the rest of the season, because other teams aren't going to develop their 25 cars that much during this year. So that's a big deal as well, I think, because we've talked about Max Verstappen and we need to know what kind of Red Bull team is going to show up in Jeddah. By the way, because we talked about Max Verstappen, we talked about the, the problems within the team. We've talked about the car not performing the way max wants it to which kind of red bull team is going to turn up in saudi arabia look the end of the day as you, you hit the nail on the head when you said they won seven out of ten races.

Paul Velasco:

Now I would imagine that adrian knew his influence in the car ended around mid-season because you know he leaving and stuff like that, and they lost the plot. They lost the plot totally. I don't care what you say. I'm going to be like Nostradamus and say if Newey had stayed on and was business as usual, as Horner erroneously claims, they wouldn't be in this trough. But I think whatever happened, the team went down. So basically, for McLaren to go down, they have to lose all their like overnight, lose Stella and the designers, the whole engineering team. I don't see that happening. I see it being consistent.

Paul Velasco:

In terms of Red Bull, they're in a mess. I mean, the pit stop fiasco was just like wow, they were so un-Red Bull. It was more like Keystone Cops. More. Pit stop fiasco was just like wow, they were so unreadable. Yeah, it was more like keystone cops, like more like ferrari actually, if you think about it. But um, anyway, talking about ferrari, uh, what's your thoughts? I mean they said kind of like anonymous season, despite having lewis in the car and winning that, uh, sprint race. I don't know.

Rick Houghton:

Yeah, strange, and lewis has been saying some very strange things as well. I mean, he called the ferrari alien to him. He said, after driving for mercedes for 12 years prior, getting into the ferrari car is an alien feeling. He's been trying to understand what the new car needs from him in terms of adapting his driving style. So basically he's saying I can't use my normal driving style in this ferrari, it's just not working. So I've now realized that I have to adapt my style to match the car in the middle, if you like. And they have had some problems.

Rick Houghton:

And the other thing that I noticed about Ferrari is it seems very apparent that the two teammates are acting very differently. So Charles Leclerc has already said that he's taking his development of this car down a different path to Lewis. So, whereas most times teammates work together with the engineers to understand the nuances of the car and understand the problems that they have to overcome together, but it seems in this case both drivers are independently developing the car with their own set of engineers. So Hamilton's got specific issues that Leclerc maybe hasn't and Leclerc's trying to get performance out of the car in a different way to Hamilton. I find that really quite interesting and coupled with Ferrari's commonplace strategy errors, and I said this on a podcast last week and you kind of poo-pooed it a little bit. But the more I thought about it afterwards I was like you know what I think? I'm right.

Rick Houghton:

I'm convinced that Ferrari, during races, do not watch the race. They watch their cars, they watch the telemetry, they watch their strategy calls, but they don't watch the race. So I mean, a really easy example of this was in Bahrain when other teams were complaining on the radio about the hard tyres not switching on and not working. This happened on multiple occasions with multiple teams. No one at Ferrari is monitoring those team radios. All they need to do is have a guy like me sat in his living room watching the Sky F1 feed or the World Telefeed listening to those radio outbursts Tele-tubby feed, I'm telling you. And they're not doing it because they would never have put the two Ferraris on the hard tyres for the final stint of that race if they'd have heard the other team radios.

Paul Velasco:

Mate, listen, I wasn't mocking you. You've got to understand my humor against the Ferrari. I'm sorry about Ferrari fans, who are my best mates. Look, I want a strong Ferrari and we need a strong Ferrari. Ferrari has to be strong, it's just, it's not negotiable.

Paul Velasco:

And yeah, I think Lewis again going like the whole Lando Norris route, you know, like he's speaking to his priest and giving him the whole oh my heart's not in it and this, and that I think he's just shut up and drive. You know that's what Lewis is best at just shutting up. And when he's angry he's fast. But now it's like, oh, it's too much time explaining, he's just giving himself away, like even named the brakes and like the brembos and the carbon, whatever it's like wow, dude, does you know that's kind of information as a rival that um plays in my hands, you know? So I don't know. I mean it was always going to be a big move. Everyone wants him to be world champion with this and he's already been very honest. Look, anyone who thought I was going to come here and be world champion immediately was wrong. You know what I mean. And he's cool to say that I want it to work. There's going to be an interesting dynamic when two Ferraris don't fit into the same space.

Paul Velasco:

But until then they need to get quicker, they need to get faster, because Leclerc should be on pole every now and then. I don't think he's tickled pole yet. Other than that, I'm super still impressed with Mercedes. I have low expectations for Mercedes, but obviously the engine's super good because Leclerc is winning with it. So now I think they're edging forward and I'm liking what I'm seeing from Russell and Antonelli. So, yeah, that's going to be. I think we've really got McLaren ahead, and then you've got three or four teams and, depending what Red Bull comes with, and apparently Max, according to the reports, he believes they'll be better in Jeddah, and if he believes they'll be better in Jeddah, he could swing it. You know what I'm saying, but I'm not sure if they've got enough to beat the McLarens.

Rick Houghton:

Yeah, and, like you said, you know, we've never really experienced Red Bull having problems, like you know pit stop disasters, and they had a massive problem with the brakes in Bahrain. You know. Hopefully they've ironed those out because they've always been fairly flawless when it comes to the technical side of things. But They've always been fairly flawless when it comes to the technical side of things, but so far this season we've seen some cracks in the armour. And then, yeah, you go to the top four teams, which you know McLaren, mercedes, Ferrari, red Bull probably in that order at the moment, based on what we saw last weekend, and then you've got a strong showing from the teams behind the top four. You know, alpine had an amazing outing in bahrain. If pierre gasly can continue with another strong weekend in jeddah, that's more points on the board. I agree with you about pierre gasly. By the way, he can have one good race followed by four average ones, can't? He's not that consistent yeah, I think so.

Paul Velasco:

And uh, this he's not alone. Most of the journeymen are like it. I mean, I can say hulkenberg, the same Ocon, the same Sainz like disappointing, he's lately been the same. He was so good last year at Ferrari, but anyway, yeah, so they in there. But really the top of the standings is quite. Mclaren are like gone 151 points, mercedes on 93. So it's Red Bull 71 and Ferrari 57. Ferrari are underperforming. If you take that, red Bull are underperforming, but there's only one space at the top. But you'd expect them to be closer. You know what I mean at least, but they're not. And then Haas are impressive. They're the best of the rest actually, and I think that's largely due to Ocon, who's bringing his A game. So that's good, let's see if he can sustain it. And Berman also doing a good job as a rookie. And then there's Williams. And yeah, beyond that, I mean really Aston Martin. Are they there? Have you seen Aston?

Rick Houghton:

Martin, yeah, really, we've spoken about Lance Stroll, who he just doesn't seem to be present in the paddock. You know he's not doing any media, he's not. You know he's absent on track because he's always at the back, but he's not doing any media. I haven't seen him do a single interview.

Paul Velasco:

I don't know, mate, you know I don't like to slag people off in such a way because, you know, honestly, I do respect every racing driver at all levels, you know, end of the day, especially guys, the higher they get. But I'm, you know, and I did respect Lance, but, honestly, lance got to come to the races, mate, he's really got to come to the races, you know, because you can't depend on Fernando Alonso. Fernando Alonso is going to do this. The car's good, he's going to put it places. No one can put it for as long as the car's good, but when the car gets bad, he loses interest. Mate, you can hear it.

Rick Houghton:

He does.

Paul Velasco:

Yeah, you can see that, and excuses and that, and I don't blame him, I don't blame him. I'd say to him you know I wouldn't even be driving, but you know he's a brand and all that. But yeah, I think Aston Martin is disappointing. I read somewhere that Laurence Stroll was at the headquarters. You know giving it absolutely ballistic. You know, don't quote me on it, do some research before you just go. Google Laurence Stroll, but I heard it hasn't been pretty there, because you know this is the British Ferrari. He's building the modern day Ferrari in England and a very, very, very British brand. I wouldn't be surprised if several heads start to roll there. Aston Martin.

Rick Houghton:

Yeah, and just a brief mention on Carlos Sainz. When drivers move teams and we've seen it a few times this season definitely, drivers move teams and they have to adapt to a different car and, like Lewis said, he's having to adapt his driving style to fit the car, not the other way around. It always used to amaze me. I grew up with go-karting and all the Formula One drivers grew up with go-karting. That's how they started.

Rick Houghton:

And if you go down to your local kart track and you pay to drive, you will get a go-kart and you drive it round and you, within a few laps, you kind of get a feel for how the car is. You know, does it oversteer, does it understeer? You know what's the traction like coming out of slow corners, that sort of thing and then you come out of that car and they put you in another go-kart, and every go-kart is different. So they all have different tendencies. One might steer to the left a little bit, one might be really poor with traction, one might be ultra fast, the engine might be superb, and then you go into a third go-kart and that one's different as well.

Rick Houghton:

But as go-kart drivers, you instantly, within a lap, you adapt to the differences in the car. So my feeling always was when a formula one driver went from one car to the other, that's what happens he adapts to the nuances of the new car, gets on with it, learns it really quickly and and that's it. But it obviously is much more complicated than that, something that is beyond my understanding, because they're not like go-karts, obviously, and it it takes a lot longer than a few laps to master the differences in different formula one cars, would you?

Paul Velasco:

agree, that was like the jesus christ of karting. Seriously, you know your stuff, eh, but I'll take you on dubai autodrome, dubai karting, where I met ian, actually the producer, me, and you, paul me, and you needed some blurry challenge, challenge here, me and you, on the dubai autodrome kart track.

Rick Houghton:

Uh, a flat out race. We'll film it, we'll get it up on the socials and everyone can watch.

Paul Velasco:

That's a deal. First of all, you'll pay for the bar order drum. I want to stay across the road from the hotel and I'll come with you Business class Emirates anytime I'll come to UK. Kick your ass too, and no ballast, okay, because I'm probably 100Ks on we're on.

Rick Houghton:

Yeah, I don't need. I don't need any ballast, by the way.

Paul Velasco:

No, you're not going to have any. It's going to be. You know you're going to have to lose weight for this one. I mean how much? You weigh about 180, right, my mate.

Rick Houghton:

I'm 82, so you yeah, I'm, I'm over 100 so that's, it I'm all so you've got the advantage and I'm going to prove that I'm faster that way.

Paul Velasco:

Different anyway, move on all right.

Rick Houghton:

So, uh, we head to jenna this weekend. I'm looking forward to the race, I'm looking forward to the strategy, I'm looking forward to multiple safety cars, maybe the odd red flag, because you know red flags. Some people say, oh, it's just interrupting the action, it's not because red flags play into the strategy calls of the teams, which I find fascinating. You know you're allowed to change tyres under red flag conditions, for instance, and that we saw play out many times in the last few years. You made a prediction of Lance Stroll being the first to put it into the wall. I'm asking now for your race winner prediction.

Paul Velasco:

So I'm going to say who goes first?

Rick Houghton:

I think you go first, ok.

Paul Velasco:

I'm going to Piastri, verstappen Dutour, verstappen Russell. Let me just check, ayrton, what?

Rick Houghton:

do you?

Paul Velasco:

think, yes, I'm going to go Verstappen Piastri, Russell.

Rick Houghton:

Wow, I'm going to go. Norris, piastri, antonelli.

Paul Velasco:

Antonelli, mary, antonelli, okay, antonelli, mate, yes, and him Nelly Nelly Kimi. Just call him Kimi the new, kimi the little new Kimi.

Rick Houghton:

Yeah, antonelli, I think he just has something, he has a swagger about him that makes me think he could be a future world champion you think swagger?

Paul Velasco:

I don't think. I think he's like a little doll thing.

Rick Houghton:

Swagger's like James Hunt swagger I don't think he's got a swagger mate he carries himself out of the car when he deals with the media and he's done some. He did some, you know, had some promo video stuff for sponsors and he did some stuff for Sky F1. He just has this persona. I think that you think, okay, yeah, this guy is going to be world champion material in the future, and then you see him on track and you see him, you know, occasionally make a slight rookie mistake, but basically overall keep the thing together, make some, you know, overtaking moves that others might be frightened to do, but he takes them on, defends pretty well. I think he's got a massive future in in front of him oh, yeah, we're gonna hear.

Paul Velasco:

I think he might be around when I'll be gone. Seriously, 20 years, yeah, just for us that long be cool. But yeah he might be one of the first guys that outlasts me in Formula 1 and me on Earth, but anyway, yeah, he's going to be around a long time, but no, antonelli. I think one word sums him up Google his picture, angelic.

Rick Houghton:

You think he'll want to be known as Angelic? He'll want to be known as a bruiser on track, wouldn't he? Yeah, that looks like a bad thing.

Paul Velasco:

No, no, no, no, no, no, mate, something angel with a knife. That's the assassin you want, Because you want like a really nice guy on the outside and when the advisor's done, he kills Like an angel, like angels do, and Lando Norris needs a little bit of that, as we've discussed.

Rick Houghton:

Listen, we head into the final triple header for this current phase of the Formula One season in Jeddah this weekend, looking forward immensely to the race. We'll be back on the podcast with Jad next week to talk about the results and to talk about how everyone got on and to see if Paul's prediction of Lance Stroll being the first to put it in the wall is correct. Who's your prediction?

Paul Velasco:

Throw me under the bus all the time.

Rick Houghton:

Oh, I knew you were going to ask me this. I knew you were going to ask me this. Liam Lawson, yeah, the kid's having a terrible season and it wouldn't surprise me if that continued. You could be right. You could be right. So we'll be back on the next episode of Two Soft Compounds to talk about that. Thank you so much for being here. If you like what you hear, subscribe where you get your podcasts from, tell your friends, tell your family, tell your colleagues. Enjoy the Formula One this week, me and Paul. Back next time, thank you.