The Bloke and A Bird Show Episode 267

The Bloke and A Bird Show

We know, scheduling our break to start just as F1 is coming out of their summer break but that’s just how the schedule’s aligned.

It the week since our last show a lot happened -

Audi announced that they will be F1’s newest engine constructor debuting in 2026. No word yet on who will be their customer team but Audi says that they’ll make a determination before the end of the year.

In what we’re sure is totally unrelated news - Sauber and Alfa Romeo announced that they will end their partnership at the end of 2023.

Otmar Szafnauer insists that there’s been no breakdown in the relationship between him and Fernando Alonso - given some of the things that we’ve heard over the last week from the two of them, and some of the things that were being said this weekend - we’re not so sure that there hasn’t been a falling out.

We’re waiting to hear the results of the Contract Resolution Board.

McLaren has paved the way for Oscar Piastri to join the team after announcing that they were releasing Daniel Ricciardo at the end of the 2022 season.

Could Pierre Gasley be headed to Alpine? Esteban Ocon says that there’s no bad blood between the two of them anymore.

Spa gets a 1 year contract extension.

Mercedes didn’t have a great weekend - which might have been due to the special livery that they didn’t really run on race day.

It seems the stewards are back to excusing lap 1 incidents.

Ferrari continues to fall behind.

And F1 will not be returning to Russia (at least as long as Stefano Domenicali gets to make the call)