2 Soft Compounds

Texas Showdown: McLaren Fireworks, Ferrari Chaos & F1’s Radical 2026 Gamble

• W4 Podcast Studio • Season 1 • Episode 38

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This week on 2 Soft Compounds, Rick teams up with F1 journalist Damien Reed to preview the Texas Grand Prix and unpack the chaos surrounding F1’s upcoming 2026 rule overhaul.

They break down major changes - ground effect scrapped, DRS removed, and active wings introduced and debate whether the FIA’s cost-cap push will backfire. The conversation heats up around Christian Horner’s rumored comeback via Haas, Toyota, or Alpine and Ferrari’s turmoil, with Leclerc and Vasseur both under pressure.

As McLaren’s internal rivalry between Norris and Piastri threatens to boil over, Rick and Damien ask if Texas could be the breaking point. Plus: George Russell’s resurgence, track-limit controversies and stats from @LightsOut covering Verstappen’s U.S. dominance and Hamilton’s latest milestone all make for 30 mins of enticing F1 ear candy! 

Production Credits:

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

Rick Houghton:

I don't make mistakes, I make prophecies that immediately turn out to be wrong.

Damien Reed:

Anything can happen in Formula One, and it usually does.

Rick Houghton:

Hey, welcome to another edition of Two Soft Compans with me, Rick and Damien Reed, motoring journalist, broadcaster, and Formula One commentator. How are you, Damon? Good to be back, Rick and I know. Loving it, loving it.

Damien Reed:

Looking forward to Texas on the weekend coming up.

Rick Houghton:

Yes. So there's quite a bit to talk about about Texas itself, about the track, about what we think is going to pl pan out on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. And there's also some other things around Formula One in general, which we're going to talk about, including these rule changes for next year. We've touched on it on the podcast before, but next year's sweeping rule changes, the ground effects is going. The DRS is going. They're going to have two buttons on their steering wheel, which they're going to have to think about. One of them is going to be like a boost button, which gives them the ability to perhaps overtake, and they're having movable front and rear wings, which effectively is replacing DRS. But that's a lot of moving parts to go wrong, isn't it?

Damien Reed:

Yeah, look, I don't know where it's all going, honestly. But yeah, I mean they're getting rid of DRS as you say. But then again, it's kind of from what I've seen from diagrams and things like that, is that there's kind of creating a DRS system on the front wings. So the the front wings are going to be a a five-piece component for next year. You're going to have the uh the two end plates, which are not movable, and the nose cone, that's not not movable. But the two bits in between those, uh left and right of the nose cone, will be movable by a hydraulic system. Now, from what I'm understanding, is that it's going to create two planes, one being what they call a Z mode, and the other one being an X mode. Z mode is for downforce, where it pops up and X mode, flat, so for Monza and Baku. But according to a couple of people I've been chatting with, is that their concern about this is that because it's going to be operated by hydraulics, and we see how often you've only got to tap a wall, you've only got to hit a tire bear, and you lose a front wing. Now, before it was a very quick simple method of coming into the box if the car can still drive, and a couple of Allen keys, off it comes, new one goes on, back out and away you go again. But this can create a whole world of headaches with not only being a very difficult component to replace now, but hydraulic fluid on the track every time you lose a front wing.

Rick Houghton:

Yeah, and they're talking they could keep talking about the cost cap, but this seems like an awfully expensive way to go motor racing for next season. I just, you know, there's a number of things that I'm I'm I'm not really happy about. And in fact, the uh the Kotaboss uh has made a comment ahead of this weekend's race in Texas by saying, you know, that FIA were talking about wanting more sprint races to try and drive the excitement for younger viewers who don't have an attention span. And the Koter boss has said, listen, it's it's entertaining to have a sprint race. He said, but I don't sell any more tickets if we have one, and if we don't have one, I still sell the same amount of tickets. So I think there's a lot happening next year which it's you know it's going to be seen, it's going to be revealed. They're having a private test first of all next year, uh, before they have the first public test, which we'll be able to follow along with. You've spoken to some people who've driven Sims and they're not they're saying these cut these new cars next year are really difficult to drive and they don't like them one bit.

Damien Reed:

No, I mean these these are reserve drivers for for the teams as well. They don't want to go on the record, obviously, because they're few they're looking eyeing up a potential seat to be a driver in Formula One one day, but off the record, they're saying, look, they're absolutely putting the words of one particular person, they're dogs. Um, did not enjoy driving the car at all because you've got a 50% electrification, 50% combustion. It's taken away a bit of the entertainment factor or the of of driving the car. But then also, too, the the weight, you know, the car is still heavy and you've lost the downforce underneath the car from the from the floor, and all these other movable parts. And and yeah, I don't know, from from the the impression I was getting from these people were saying that they're just not fun to drive. They're gonna take a lot of mentally rethinking the way you drive a car. Now, that could bring up a whole world of unpredictability in terms of who's gonna be quick next year and who's not. Is it gonna be the gamers, the guys that grew up on gaming, or is it gonna be the guys who grew up in karting are gonna be the quick drivers? That's a big question that we don't know yet.

Rick Houghton:

Yeah, I mean I think I think the uh the sim racers like London Norris and Max Versteppen, I think, are gonna fare better than the likes of Lewis Hamilton, who came up the traditional route through karting. Um I mean, they've already been complaining about the number of buttons and switches they're gonna have to maneuver during races. Uh this X mode and this Z mode or whatever it is, you know, sounds complicated on the face of it and I would imagine is complicated to operate.

Damien Reed:

Well, for sure. I mean, you know, I'm just thinking off the top of my head now. If you've got two front wings that move, you know, as I said, either left or right of the of the nose cone, now I'm assuming that they should move at exactly the same amount, so it's effectively one plane. But what if there's a slight hydraulic leak or an issue on one side and not on the other? So you so he, you know, the driver sort of winds on two degrees or whatever it is it's gonna be, and the left wing is pops up three and a half degrees because it's got a hydraulic issue, and then suddenly it's not gonna go around right-hand corners. I mean, you know, these are things that no one knows about yet. And you're right, no, it's just stuff we don't need, and it's creating a huge expense. I don't think it's gonna enter I think I don't think it's gonna add to the entertainment factor either. I just think it's making a change for a change's sake and costing a huge amount of money for an answer to a question no one's really asking.

Rick Houghton:

I've also seen uh other alarming news that the Formula One are are trying in some way to introduce a half-time show. What they're gonna do, part the cars up and then have Madonna play for a few songs and then get back in the cars. I mean, uh they're they're they're coming up with stuff, like you say, which is unnecessary. They're also coming up with stuff which is overcomplicated for you know the the the the current cars are fine, you know, you can overtake in a current car. The grand effect has bit has worked, you know, and they they're getting rid of all that and trying something completely new and and largely untested. I just think it's a bit of a worry. Um, other rumors going round in uh in the Formula One paddock, uh Christian Horner's getting a lot of attention. Um if you look at uh lots of media outlets at the moment, they're all speculating that Christian Horner could be back in Formula One uh for as early as next season, and people are speculating about which team he might go to. I think that the thing that I've heard the most of is that Christian Horner could could be involved in a completely new setup, and obviously that's not gonna happen in time for 2026. But if you look around the grid, there aren't many teams that he'd either be welcome at. I mean, he's not going to McLaren, let's put it that way. Zach Brown's been very loud about him. He's not going to Toto Wolf, you know, unless he's gonna go and make the tea for him. So uh have you heard anything about this? Because it's every time you open a website now which has got anything to do with Formula One, he's front and centre about speculating where where he might go next.

Damien Reed:

Yeah, I mean, I know you're right. I mean, we're hearing all sorts of things now, but from what I understand, the the the black and white that is kind of indefensible and is kind of set in stone is that he's on a gardening leave until April. So he can't get involved with a team at the start of next year anyway. He may be able to come in at the summer break and you know, sit it out, do a do an Adrian Newey until summer, and then you know pop up with a team. But you know, there there's other options. I mean, Gunther Steiner mentioned something the other day because he's just invested in a Moto GP team that that might be an option for him to get involved in Moto GP, you know, not do Formula One, not do car racing at all. That might be something there. But uh I mean, you know, there's other things around. There's I even heard some speculation that given the amount of coin that he got from leaving Red Bull, that he he could actually, you know, buy into you know, I don't know, would he have enough to buy out, Toto? No, doubt it very much. I mean, so do I, but but that was popped up. But certainly, you know, teams that are looking for money, such as Alpine, and and to me, if he was going to stay in Formula One, that would be the most logical path because, you know, not only did do they need the money, and he's got the money, and they need someone to to steer that ship that's sinking very quickly, he could steer it. But also, too, from a personal standpoint with Christian, he lives about 15 minutes down the road. He's got two farms nearby, he's not going to move to Marinello for argument's sake and take the family over there. He's not going to leave the UK. So if he does stay in F1, it'll be somewhere close, and Alpine is the closest place, and they're the team, arguably, in the biggest trouble.

Rick Houghton:

Yeah, there's two teams that I I've I've wondered about. First of all, there's the Haas team, smallest team in Formula One. Uh, they would be no doubt the cheapest to buy if uh if Mr. Haas decides he wants out, uh, and that has been uh speculated over the last couple of seasons. Um the other one is that Toyota might be eyeing up a return to Formula One, but probably as an engine supplier, not as a team in their own right as they have been in the past. But if Horner can marry up Haas and Toyota, then he might be interested in that challenge.

Damien Reed:

Yeah, I mean the Toyota and and and Haas have already got a relationship going on, so that so that the job's already started with that one, and that could happen. You know, they've got the that they'll they'll be running the GR branded engines at some point. Don't think I'm not sure if it'll be next year. I don't think it's that soon. But uh but but Toyota definitely getting back into Formula One and more than likely it'll be with the Haas guys. So yeah, maybe he could, you know, work something out there. You know, Old Haas Sr. has sort of threatened to to pull the pin s several times. Whether he does it or not, I'm not sure. He you know, to me, I don't think he will. I think he's he's sort of shadow boxing a little bit because when he first started making these these noises going back in the early days with, you know, Kevin Magnus and Romain Grosjon saying, look, I'm out of here, he was probably more likely to do it then, but now with the popularity of Formula One in the US, he can really capitalise on on the fact that they've got you know three nearly four races in their region. So I don't think he'd be going anywhere too soon. And then the question mark is do they want someone from the UK and to to run their team if they want to keep this American theme going, even though they're partly based in the US, partly based in the UK, and partly based in Italy. I don't know.

Rick Houghton:

Okay, well it is uh the American uh circuit of the Americas race this coming weekend. We're gonna preview that in a short while. First of all, I want to talk about the buzz which is happening around Ferrari at the moment. I think you know more about this than I do, Damo. So d tell us what you know, because they seem to be in the headlines a lot in the last week or so as well.

Damien Reed:

Yeah, I you know, I don't know whether it's good old friends at La Gazetta della Sport who like to stir the pot every couple of weeks for the last 50 years, but they you know they do get stuck in. But I've I've been hearing on two fronts that there's some issues going on at Ferrari. One is uh still the persistent talk about Freddie Vasur maybe uh being being giving these marching orders and in a way that wouldn't surprise me given the way that Ferrari have treated their team principals previously, it is a revolving door, even though there's been you know some that have shown some promise. And I think if Freddie left, it would be a a travesty because he's the one he's been the glue that's kept him together. He brought Charles in, he brought Lewis Hamilton back in. Having said that, I'm also hearing that Charles' manager has been on the hunt as well, and he's he's door knocking to uh to find some options for Charles because it's clearly he's not happy, and he and he said as much in the in the press conference last time out in Singapore on the Penn, saying that you know that the car is just not good and and he can't see any way out of that. So, you know, I mean their contracts uh his contract with Lewis's expires at the same time at the end of next season. So whether they sit it out and do a do a Fernando and say, which I think a lot of a lot of drivers will do, to be honest, see what the car's like. And if the car is good, they'll stay. If the car's bad, they'll go. Fernando's the opposite. If the car's good, he'll leave. If it's bad, he'll he'll hang around, apparently. A lot hinges on the early feedback on the car for next year as to what these guys will do. But certainly I think from what I've heard, Charles is talking to people and people are talking to Fred. So, you know, it's definitely and then then where where does that leave Lewis as captain of a a ship with no one on it? You know, for that's not exactly how you want to wrap up your career. So that would I no doubt putting question marks in Lewis's head as well, especially given his age right now.

Rick Houghton:

Yeah, I mean we talked about the uh the rule changes for next year, but really no one knows. I mean, you it might get to the first test, and Red Bull could be five seconds off the pace. The same for Mercedes. You just don't know, you know. Haas might have done a brilliant job uh developing the 26 car and suddenly be winning uh world championships. I mean, anything is possible, I suppose. And if you think about the drivers who are waiting, you know, you've got Hamilton and the clerk, they're probably waiting to see what a car's like before they do any knee-jerk reaction, even though we know that the clerk is currently very unhappy. I don't think Hamilton's particularly overjoyed with what's happening at Ferrari. I think Ferrari top brass are also going, When are we going to have a car that can challenge for the lead of races and it can challenge for wins? I think they're losing patience. But you've got Max Verstappen, you know, what happens if he rocks up to Australia next year and the the car just not performs? Well, this is the thing.

Damien Reed:

And there's one consistent that I keep sort of referring back to when there's major changes in rules, and it happens every time when there's a major change in rules, and it gets to a point where a team has to decide when to cut off developing the current car and focusing on next year and or who runs to the finish line and who runs it out to the end. And invariably it's the guys that are coming first and second in the championship aren't thinking about next year's car. They're working on this year to run it to the flag, which is why I think there is so much needle going on at McLaren, because I think both their drivers are thinking, well, this is our shot, because there's no guarantee that the McLaren is going to be good next year. And I think they're putting all their eggs into this basket to get the championship wrapped up. They've got the constructors to get the drivers wrapped up for this year, and then we'll work on next year. It's the quiet ones. It's the quiet ones that you've got to look at for next year. And I'm looking at the green cars, I'm looking at Aston Martin, that are going, okay, we don't have a chance to do anything this year or last year. We've paid the big bucks for the for Adrian. Let's work on next year. And I think that they're quietly going to be the ones that that might come out of the box, you know, absolutely running. And likewise, maybe even, you know, uh Mercedes for sure, you know, Toto's a very, very analytical person and the Mercedes power unit. Maybe that's where Laurent Mekis is also thinking as well, going, look, I've just been drafted in halfway through the season. We're not going to get it, although Max has sort of, you know, put his hand up and saying, I think we might. But maybe Red Bull might be thinking about next year as well. So, you know, let McLaren run away with it and wrap it all up, and we'll focus on building a car for the next three years. And I I I think, yeah, keep an eye on Aston Martin and what Toto's doing, and maybe even Red Bull if Max, you know, thinks that they can do it for next year.

Rick Houghton:

Okay, interesting stuff. Let's move on to this coming weekend, the circuit of the Americas. Always a uh fascinating race. It is a track you can overtake on, it's not a track that is a street circuit. I personally think McLaren are going to be back on top this weekend. Uh, would you agree with that? It's it's the sort of track that suits their car.

Damien Reed:

Oh man, for sure, for sure. It's a it's a fast track with a lot of fast corners. I've been lucky enough to do some pretty hot laps and uh at that circuit over the last six or seven years, and I absolutely love it. I love this place, like you wouldn't believe. The thing is, if you get it wrong at turn one, which is the one of the easiest corner in the world to get wrong, you're still catching that car at turn eight and turn nine. You don't catch it again because what I found is like when you're going up that hill, firstly, you've got to accelerate into the corner because it's such a steep uphill. It's like Our Rouge, it's you know, it's it's incredibly steep. And you actually have to go past the apex before you hook left. You've got to make sure that the apex is almost out of your sight before you hook left because it folds back on itself.

Rick Houghton:

Yeah.

Damien Reed:

And that's where people outbreak themselves and end up wide. And if you then miss that, it's then a roller coaster of mistakes right the way down till you get onto the back straight. So it rewards the brave, it rewards those who have a very good error set up for fast corners. So that's where McLaren comes into it. The first part is where Max comes into it, being the brave into turn one. I'm really, really looking forward to it.

Rick Houghton:

Yeah, me too. And I think, you know, without doubt, Red Bull have unlocked the potential of their car. I mean, you know, many races too late, really, but they have. And they were still bringing upgraded parts to Singapore last time out. Uh so they're clearly focused on trying to give Max the best equipment for the rest of the season to see if he can nip the world championship in the bag. So, whatever we think of McLaren's early season dominance, it's probably not going to be as apparent this weekend. Uh, the Rebels will probably be closer, well, one of them will be, but the McLaren's I think, you know, could have the upper hand in qualifying. I think they can put some really fast laps together. And then, of course, we've got the whole thing with Oscar Piastri being absolutely miffed at what happened in Singapore when Lando sort of barged past him, not happy with a team for their reaction. He is going to think to himself, I don't think he's going to feel the pressure. I think he's just going to go, I'm winning this no matter what. And if that means going against team orders, if that means breaking the papaya rules, I think he thinks gloves are off. I'm just going to go for it, and I'm not going to obey the instructions that have been laid down because they've wrapped up the constructors now, of course. So it's literally about these two guys in those two cars.

Damien Reed:

Absolutely. And you know, and I think there's no more team rules, despite what will happen, what they say, and I think there was an indication of that when he, you know, pulled the earpiece out coming into pit lane to the boss. That to me is a big sign that he's like, okay, this is it. This is I'm racing now for TMP Astry and I'm on with it. And going back to what I was saying before about how with the rule changes for next year, I think both the drivers are aware that this might be their only chance ever to be world champion.

Rick Houghton:

Yeah.

Damien Reed:

And if they blow this, then they might blow it forever. Now, you know, with Lando, he's been around a while now. This is very much potentially on his shoulders. So there's a lot of pressure for Lando to seal the deal. But likewise, there's a an awful lot of pressure from down under for Oscar to seal the deal as well, because, you know, they haven't had a world champion since 1980 with Alan Jones. You know, they've had Mark Weber and Daniel Ricardo, the other guys, Larry Perkins was in there in the mid-70s with a couple of races. Just the sniff of the idea of having a world champion has got the Australian media absolutely buzzing. And the guy is a superstar down there. The ticket prices have gone through the roof for the Piastri stand already. There's all this kind of pressure that's bubbling on him as well. And I think you know, Mark Weber is has been there and done that before. He knows what it's like to be a number two driver, as he famously said at Silverstone. I think that Oscar's going to go out there and race for Oscar and Lando's going to answer it. And brilliant, bring it on. I'm looking forward to it.

Rick Houghton:

Yeah, I mean it could be one of the most fascinating races of the season, and we've had some good ones already. The one thing I was going to ask you, uh Oscar Piastri has been Mr. Cool up until Singapore. Were you surprised at his outbursts in Singapore? Do you think that he's now feeling the pressure of perhaps being caught in the world championship? I had a bit of think about it.

Damien Reed:

I don't think it was actually him losing his cool or having pressure get to him. I think he's just playing the game. And I think Lando's playing the game as well. And the game is what McLaren have devised and have given them the rules, and the rules basically to the game is that he who winges the most will get some results from the team. Because if we didn't have this papaya rules bullshit going on, I don't think they would be complaining on the radio half as much. But because that's the way it's been set up, if Oscar doesn't get on there and say, hey, you know, he should give the position back because he got two points before and I'm missing two points and whatever else, this is what McLaren have devised. If there was none of this, I don't think you would have half the radio chatter going on. And uh I don't think that it's all totally from the emotional side of Oscar. I think he's going, Well, you know, I've got to let them know because that's what Lando does, and he got results from the radio and from his engineer. So yeah, uh, I don't know. The whole thing is is ridiculous in my mind.

Rick Houghton:

Okay, uh, let's just talk about some of the other teams in brief before we go to Alex from at Light South for some fascinating stats and facts for this weekend's race in America. Obviously, Red Bull have improved that package for Max for Stafford, and so he's gonna be a contender in qualifying this weekend. Mercedes, I I don't know why I think this about Mercedes, but uh I think you know hot conditions are probably not a track they're gonna excel at this weekend after you know Singapore and and George Russell's victory. Uh, would you would you agree with that or do you think they they're still gonna be in the mix?

Damien Reed:

I was in your camp as well, until Singapore. And the way George, you know, just got on with it and brought that car home in hot conditions made me have a rethink about this. Now, yeah, Texas does get very hot. It doesn't have the humidity that we had in Singapore, but I'm now thinking we can't rule Mercedes out, can't rule George Russell out either with his fitness and the way he managed to he just puts his head down and goes for it. So yeah, you've got you've got to factor in George Russell and the Mercedes this weekend and Kimmy Antonelli, and we know how well he goes when he's not in Europe, you know. So you never know. He might do it again.

Rick Houghton:

Okay, we're gonna get some uh some stats and facts from Alex now. You can follow his Twitter account, it's at Lights Out, it's fascinating. He posts uh graphs and charts and all kinds of fascinating stuff um from Thursday onwards at the F1 uh races. So he'll uh he'll definitely be talking about uh practice and qualifying and the race itself. Follow him at Lights Out. Here he is with some facts ahead of this weekend's race.

Speaker:

The 2025 US Grand Prix is F1's thirteenth visit to Circuit of the Americas, and it will be the first at the track in which Sergio Perez will not compete. It leaves Lewis Hamilton as the only driver to have started every race at the track since it first joined the calendar in 2012. Talking of Hamilton, this weekend, he could become the first driver in history to score five thousand World Championship points. He'd need to finish on the podium to do so. A victory for Max Verstappen at the 2025 US Grand Prix would see him win a seventh race in the United States. It would become only the second country in which Verstappen has won as many as seven times. Italy became the first such country earlier this year, with him taking victories at both Imela and Monza. Michael Schumacher and Lewis Hamilton are the only other drivers to have won as many as seven times in a single country. Meanwhile, a top three finish for Verstappen at the 2025 United States Grand Prix would see him equal Sebastian Vettel for third place on the all-time list of most podium finishes in Formula One. Verstappen has recorded 121 top three finishes to date compared to Vettel's 122. It took Vettel 263 starts to reach 122 podium finishes, while Verstappen has amassed his 121 podiums to date over just 227 starts. And finally, if Lando Norris or Oscar Piastri win this weekend, they'll join a list of eight other drivers who've won as many as ten Grand Prix without ever winning the title. The record for most wins without a title belongs to Sterling Moss, who took sixteen wins without ever being crowned champion. His record has been broken five times in F1's history, but each time the driver who broke it went on to be crowned champion, therefore handing the unwanted record back to Moss.

Rick Houghton:

Wow, Alex, thank you so much. Again, follow him on Twitter or X or whatever you call it. Um at Lights Out. Fascinating stuff throughout the Grand Prix weekends. Uh one thing we have to mention, Damo, is that you're gonna hear lots of radio calls for track limits this weekend.

Damien Reed:

Oh yeah, yeah. Unfortunately, it's gonna come in. It's gonna impact now. This is a actually you brought up a very valid point because lot put penalty points on licenses, Max Verstappen is still not out of the not in the not in the clear yet. He did get a few back, but he's still on the edge. Ollie Beerman is right on the edge. He's his he's facing a race ban potentially if he exceeds trap link track limits too many times this weekend. It could actually come after this weekend. But we're getting to that end of the season where people where points are starting to accumulate and they really need to keep an eye on it. And yeah, going back to my earlier point of that that seek that snake that goes down from turn one, if you get it wrong at the start, you can very easily uh get get off, you know, get track limit penalties two or three times before you get to uh to the breaking zone of the back straight. So unfortunately, it's gonna be one of those things we're gonna have to listen to.

Rick Houghton:

Yeah, uh the penultimate corner is of often brings out the track limits infringement um because they just like to run wide there. Um the thing that interests me about that is I I think it was last year in America and then the year before, uh, there were people going out and setting uh qualification laps in Q2 and Q3, and then suddenly having their lap times deleted. So it can be complete chaos.

Damien Reed:

Yeah, absolutely, because you know you've got that sort of sharp double left hander, and you either head into the box or you stay out on the track, and yeah, it's it's very easy to put four wheels off onto the right side of the track to get that good run onto the front straight. Uh and you you just get to be exuberant and and that's where it that's where it picks up. So it's gonna be one of those things we're gonna hear a lot of, unfortunately. Um hopefully we'll get it all sorted by the end of Friday and and it'll it'll be a lot cleaner on Saturday afternoon.

Rick Houghton:

Okay, well, we we both think that McLaren are gonna be uh sort of dominant this weekend. That remains to be seen. It's gonna be fascinating uh from Friday onwards to see uh what the teams bring. Ferrari obviously need to improve. I think Williams are due a decent race uh for crying out loud. Um this was the race last year, which I thought uh uh basically summed up the way Lando Norris was driving last year. He qualified on pole and then got overtaken easily into turn one by Max Verstappen. In fact, he left the door wide open. I think we're seeing a different attitude from Norris now. I don't think he's gonna make those mistakes anymore. But with his teammate, as we've discussed, it could be absolute fireworks this weekend.

Damien Reed:

Yeah, for sure. And I think you're right. I think Landow's toughened up a little bit against Max, but there still be will be that air of of caution on his side, and I think Max, if he's if he's anywhere near the front, will do exactly the same thing. Uh, and because we know we know how Max drives, he drives the car on the nose, he he he's he he's the guy that sends it down the inside and gets the car very pointy, which is why Yuki and no one else can has difficulty driving his car because there's nothing going on behind the driver's head in terms of of grip. But that's the way my Max likes it. He likes to steer it on the nose, which means that he likes to send it down the inside. And if you can do that at Texas at turn one, you're either gonna pull it off and make it work, or you're gonna take out four cars to your right and we're gonna spear off. Um we'll see how that one plays out, as as Carlos Sainz found out last year too in the Ferrari with Charles.

Rick Houghton:

Yeah, definitely. Uh I spoke to someone, uh friend of mine who's been following Formula One for years and years and years uh this week. He said, after Singapore, he said it's it's clearly obvious that Max Verstappen is the best driver in Formula One at the moment. He said, but after Singapore, I've got to say I think George Russell is the second best driver on the F1 grid right now, and that could pay dividends this weekend for George.

Damien Reed:

Yeah, I mean, you know, George is he's he's he he's a funny guy. Like he's one of these guys where he he he likes being the policeman when he's in the car picking, you know, sort of getting on the radio about cars around him. But as I said before, when he's in clear air on his own, he just gets his head down and he's very quiet, very methodical, and he just manages to link these laps together and he manages to get apex on apex on apex and and just create this beautiful flow. And it and it's it's actually really beautiful to watch him on a clean lap because it's he's quick, he doesn't, he doesn't get fussed, uh the car doesn't look like it's going fast, which means it is going fast, and then bam, he puts in an effort like he did in Singapore. And I'd have to agree, I I sort of, as I said before, and and as you your counterpart you know said as well, is that is that at the end of Singapore going away from that, thinking, wow, George Russell is is he's on it. He you know, it's all coming together for him. And the other thing, too, is he's taken on the leadership mandate since Lewis has left to to coach Kimmy as well and lead the team. And we're seeing a very different kind of George, you know, probably since the summer break, but certainly Singapore was an eye-opener. And uh yeah, I'm I'm really I'm really really impressed with what he's been doing.

Rick Houghton:

Okay, well, enjoy the race from Texas this coming weekend. We'll be back next episode on Two Soft Compounds to review all of the action, and I have a feeling it's going to be very exciting. Damo, thank you very much. Always a pleasure. Looking forward to it. See you next time. Two Soft Compounds was presented by myself, Fred Corton, alongside Paul Velesco. The studio engineer and editor was Roy Damonte, the executive producer with In Colester, and this podcast is a co-production between Grand Prix 24-7 and W4 Podcast Studio Dubai. Don't forget, if you want to join in the conversation, leave a comment on our Instagram page at TwoStoff Compound. And if you haven't done so already, please do click that follow or subscribe button. See you next time.