Max Verstappen finally gets his first win of 2026 at a rain-soaked Sepang, while George Russell’s late engine failure turns a likely podium into another painful DNF. Kimi Antonelli stretches his championship lead, Ferrari fights back from a disastrous tyre call, and McLaren has some uncomfortable questions to answer.

We also check in on Cadillac after Valtteri Bottas’s spin and Checo Pérez’s chaotic race—then address Valtteri’s decision to bike to Singapore. Yes, really.

To finish this double episode of Pump the Brakes!, we preview Singapore’s first Sprint weekend: George’s back-of-grid penalty, Max’s momentum, and whether Cadillac can find a better result under the Marina Bay lights.

George Russell showed some fight in Baku, but is one win enough to put pressure on Kimi Antonelli? We cover Red Bull’s double podium, what McLaren and Ferrari need to answer, and Cadillac’s encouraging pace with Checo alongside another frustrating retirement for Bottas.

Then we head to Sepang for the Bahrain Grand Prix… in Malaysia. F1 is back at this demanding track for the first time since 2017, with heat, possible rain, and a fresh test for the teams making gains under the new regulations. We preview the big stories and what a good weekend would look like for Cadillac.

It’s a double episode of Pump the Brakes

Baku is one of my favorite tracks on the calendar. It opens up, squeezes down to barely more than a car’s width, and punishes mistakes like a proper street track. This week, we’re looking at what makes the Azerbaijan Grand Prix so much fun—and the biggest stories heading into race weekend.

Kimi Antonelli arrives with all the momentum. Can George Russell answer after Monza and Madrid? And who’s best placed to make the most of a circuit where one mistake can change everything?

Then it’s time for our Cadillac update: a quick Madrid recap, Marcin Budkowski’s shift toward 2027, and what Checo Pérez and Valtteri Bottas can do at a track they’ve won three times between them.

Pump the Brakes is back every Wednesday, no matter what.