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.

Formula One’s first weekend at the Madring ends with Kimi Antonelli claiming his eighth victory of the season and extending his championship lead to 81 points—but Lando Norris may have been the driver who truly deserved the win.

This week, we break down Norris losing control of the race through brutal Virtual Safety Car timing, George Russell effectively conceding the championship, Ferrari’s missed opportunity, Max Verstappen’s quiet resurgence, and whether Madrid built a spectacular event without building a great race track.

Then we turn to Team Cadillac. Checo Pérez showed legitimate progress by racing with Williams and Racing Bulls before a mechanical failure ended his afternoon, while Valtteri Bottas finished P18 after a difficult weekend managing the car’s limitations.

The Madrid result was poor—but underneath it, Cadillac may finally be getting closer to the fight.

Pump the Brakes! is the Cadillac of Formula One podcasts: race reviews, major F1 headlines and the honest story of Cadillac’s first season on the grid.

In this episode: Spanish GP review, Madrid Grand Prix, Madring, Kimi Antonelli, Lando Norris, George Russell, F1 championship, Ferrari, Max Verstappen, Sergio Pérez, Valtteri Bottas, Cadillac F1

Ugo Ugochukwu is the 2026 FIA Formula 3 champion—and the first American ever to do it.

McLaren dropped him after a difficult rookie season. The championship nearly slipped away at Monza. Then Ugo arrived in Madrid, erased a 15-point deficit to Freddie Slater, and delivered when everything was on the line.

In this emergency episode:

• How Ugo responded after being dropped by McLaren
• The Monza mistake that nearly ended his championship
• His nearly flawless title-winning weekend in Madrid
• Why Euro 4, Macau and Formula 3 make his résumé unprecedented for an American
• Why Cadillac must make Ugo its future American F1 prospect

A New Yorker just won Formula 3. This is history. This is our guy—and Cadillac cannot afford to miss him.

Pump the Brakes is the Cadillac of F1 podcasts—built for new fans, American fans and anyone getting in early on Formula 1’s newest team.

Kimi Antonelli charges from P19 to win at Monza, becoming the first Italian driver to win the Italian Grand Prix in 60 years—but what does his historic victory mean for George Russell and the championship fight?

The Pitlane Patriot reviews the biggest stories from Monza, including Ferrari’s home nightmare, Alpine’s breakthrough weekend and another difficult result for Cadillac. Then, Formula One heads into the unknown as the brand-new Madring prepares to host its first Spanish Grand Prix.

Finally, NYC-born American prospect Ugo Ugochukwu enters the final Formula 3 round only 15 points behind Freddie Slater—with a legitimate chance to leave Madrid as champion.

Can George respond? Can Ferrari recover? Can Cadillac take another step? And can Ugo bring the Formula 3 championship home to New York City?

Pump the Brakes! is the weekly Cadillac F1 fan podcast hosted by the Pitlane Patriot.

This week, we preview the Italian Grand Prix at Monza, the Temple of Speed. Kimi Antonelli enters with the championship lead but a major challenge ahead, George Russell has a real chance to turn survival into attack, Ferrari returns home with emotion and expectation, McLaren looks to prove its second-half surge is real, and Red Bull needs to give Max Verstappen something to fight with.

Then we head to the Cadillac corner, where Monza gives the team a direct test: straight-line speed, braking stability, reliability, and execution. No miracles required — just proof of progress.

We also spotlight Ugo Ugochukwu’s Formula 3 title fight as the American heads into Monza eight points back with two rounds to go.

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

This week, we break down a chaotic Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort, where Lando Norris continued McLaren’s rise, Kimi Antonelli protected his championship lead, and George Russell refused to lose ground. Russell remains 59 points back—and I still believe he is in this championship.

Then we get into the Cadillac corner. Coach Bud could not be expected to transform the team during his first weekend in charge, but Zandvoort was still a bad weekend for the American outfit. Operational mistakes, continued reliability trouble, another Bottas retirement, and another scoreless Grand Prix leave Cadillac with plenty of work to do.

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