S2 Ep15: 2 In A Row for Lando. Should Kimi Be Worried?

F1 is back — and Zandvoort sent itself off in style. 🇳🇱 Nicola and Ben are joined by the legendary **Louise Goodman** to unpack a Dutch Grand Prix that had everything: a Russell sprint masterclass, Lando Norris making it two in a row, and Max Verstappen celebrating his shiny new Red Bull contract with a first-lap trip into the barriers. On the agenda this week: - **Russell watch** — sprint pole converted, sprint won, then mugged at the restart and forced to wave Antonelli through. Rear gunner or still a title contender? - **Norris on the charge** — outscoring Kimi in both races and hunting down that championship lead on used hards. Have the 2026 regs finally clicked at McLaren? - **Ferrari being very Ferrari** — quick in race trim, nowhere in qualifying, shouting on the radio, and *very* nearly taking each other out on the last lap. - **The Red Bull seat switcheroo** — Hadjar's summer boxing mishap, Lawson's promotion, and Tsunoda's move to Racing Bulls. - **Aston Martin** — Alonso doing Alonso things for P9. Can they reel in Williams? - **The 2027 driver market** — Verstappen re-signed, Williams keeping both, and a whole lot of question marks at Alpine, Haas, Audi and Cadillac. - **You told us about James Vowles** — we read out your (extremely spicy) messages on whether he'd have been sacked by now in any other sport. - **Louise's top 5 F1 fanbases**, a proper Zandvoort story as we say goodbye to the circuit, and the latest on Jason Plato's BTCC troubles from Donington. Plus a look ahead to **Monza**, and the Prediction Championship of the World — where Ben's comeback rolls on and Nicola scored a big fat zero. 🥲 **Current standings:** Nicola 46 · Producer Jim 38 · Ben 36 · Team Guest 21 Don't forget to follow, hit the bell, and find us wherever you get your podcasts. 📱 **@ESSENTIALF1** on all the socials.