Bonus: The Partial Canadian GP Lightning Round (Patreon)

Some thoughts on Lewis Hamilton, MBS and Derek Warwick's suspension. Only fair given the delay to this week's show.

It’s hard not to call Derek Warwick anything other than foolish to be suspended by the FIA for making comments about Max Verstappen after the Spanish GP a fortnight ago. He’s done exactly what led to Johnny Herbert being removed from his position at the end of 2024’s season, taking money from bookmakers via a PR company for his opinions. Bookies will do this because a better informed punter is one more likely to gamble with you, and if there’s one thing Bookies have, it’s marketing cash. They have it in spades because customer acquisition is EVERYTHING in that industry. 

Herbert was yanked because of the obvious conflict of interest. You can’t be an active sports official while taking money for your opinions. (Especially from bookies in today’s sports climate), it opens up accusations of bias and it’s a potential abuse of power. Given Warwick made racist comments in regards to Max Verstappen, calling him “The Great White Hope” in 2021, I’m starting to think he’s a cat with nine lives to still have his position, and be back in Austria in a fortnight’s time like nothing happened. Very, very lucky boy. I suspect the FIA isn’t in the position to be throwing out yet more race officials... 

Speaking of the FIA, remember those potential leadership changes that Ben Sulayem was pushing for? They passed the general assembly vote. Despite the accusations of the FIA’s democracy eroding under his presidency, you need to remember how he got in in the first place - party favours with a lot of the regional Motorsport clubs that pushed for him. MBS just became odds-on favourite for a second term. 

I should have talked about this in my Spanish DRR but got distracted by… other news, but someone needs to have a word with Lewis Hamilton. He became the latest celebrity to take a cheque from Perplexity AI as a brand activation, and it had to have been a lot of cash to end up on the top of his helmet.

But as someone who has made a second career out of embracing creativity, especially black creativity, it’s a bit embarrassing to take cheques from an AI search engine that damages the environment (Another cause he’s pushed for in the past), and compromising the creativity of the same community he’s done so much to enrich. And that’s not even scratching the surface of sibling ChatGPT now being used by half a BILLION people and the damage that’s causing in education, misinformation, mental health and more. 

This doesn’t wipe out the immense amount of good he’s done for the sport and beyond it, but he really ought to know better.