For five straight races, the story of the 2026 season was Kimi Antonelli. In Barcelona, the story changed.

Kimi did not finish. Lewis Hamilton won his first Grand Prix in Ferrari red. And a result that had looked settled for weeks finally broke open.

In this Race Notes episode, Sabrina works through a Spanish Grand Prix decided by strategy and nerve as much as speed. Hamilton started on softs, committed early to a three-stop, and was closing on the lead when a late virtual safety car reshaped the race. Whether that safety car handed him the win or simply made an inevitable one easier is the first thing Sabrina takes apart.

Mercedes let George Russell and Kimi Antonelli race each other. Two title contenders, one constructors' prize, and a high-degradation track with Ferrari within striking distance. Sabrina works through whether that was the right call, and what the timing of the safety car and Kimi's late retirement may have spared the team.

Then there is George. After Monaco, Sabrina asked on this show whether his slump was a pattern or a blip. Barcelona gave an answer. She gets into what his weekend actually showed, and why she is not buying the narrative forming around him.

Kimi was extraordinary again until his car broke. Charles Leclerc ran up front before a power steering failure ended his day. And behind the win sits a quieter problem at Ferrari, the one Lando Norris pointed at afterward, that Sabrina is not ready to look past.

A few threads she is deliberately holding for the Race Review with Dick and Joe: the politics around the engine rules, a telling moment between the two Alpines, and the questions she still wants answered before she commits to a verdict.

Five wins, then a reversal. A first win in red. And a Mercedes team that may be dominant and vulnerable at the same time. This is where the 2026 season stops being a coronation and starts being a fight.

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2025 Sound Engineers: Paul Douglas and Elena Richey

Kimi Antonelli won his fifth consecutive Formula 1 grand prix in Monaco. Behind him, nearly everything fell apart. And the most consequential thing that happened all weekend had nothing to do with the race.

But the conversation was not really about the race. It became about something else. A one-page document that arrived in the paddock motorhomes on Sunday, circulating through teams while the celebration in the harbor was still going. The ADUO verdict named Red Bull's engine the benchmark -- and handed Mercedes the right to keep developing. A system written into the rules specifically to prevent another era of Mercedes dominance may have just done the opposite. Joe explains what it means. Dick explains why the measurement at the heart of it doesn't make sense. Sabrina asks the question nobody seemed to want to answer: is there any version of this that isn't political?

Oh yeah. There was also a race. Pierre Gasly finished third on the road and seventh in the results -- penalized by margins under 0.1 km/h that Joe called daft and Dick called the rules being the rules. George Russell served a penalty, then served it wrong, then fell 68 points behind his teammate in the championship. Charles Leclerc lost three of four brakes and hit the wall. Max Verstappen's power unit failed before he reached the grid.

Joe's verdict on what Monaco told us about the development race: nothing, because Monaco is an anomaly, and everything behind Kimi was chaos, not data. Dick's read on Barcelona -- the next real test. And whether the three of them can agree on what this season is actually becoming.

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Send us Fan Mail

Support the show

Have episode feedback or ideas? Drop them a line at: sabrina@2guysagirlandf1.com

Follow 2 Guys, A Girl, and F1 on Instagram.

Check out Dick's karting documentary, Power Drive Vegas.
Interested in Dick's return to kart racing? Check out, Begin Again.

Thanks to all who have become members of the 2 Guys, A Girl, and F1 via our “Buy me A Coffee” page. This community is growing because of you. To become a member, click here.

Like the 2 Guys, A Girl, and F1 background music? It's "An Adventure Called Life" by Score Squad. It's available for purchase at Premium Beat. Use referral code SNSAEDUB at checkout to get 25% off your first purchase.

2025 Sound Engineers: Paul Douglas and Elena Richey

Kimi Antonelli won his fifth consecutive at Monaco -- the youngest winner in the race's history. He led every lap. He set pole and fastest lap. And when the restart came, the moment that had been his one visible vulnerability this season, he was flawless.

Everything behind him was chaos, heartbreak, and questions that don't have clean answers yet.

Pierre Gasly crossed the line third for Alpine. Two pit lane speeding penalties dropped him to seventh.

George Russell had a penalty compounded by a communication breakdown that meant it wasn't served correctly. He was running third at the time. Sabrina does not think his season is over.

Charles Leclerc had a weekend where the outcome may have been decided before the race began.

Max Verstappen qualified second, which was arguably the most impressive single lap of the weekend, and retired on the formation lap with a power unit failure Red Bull had already planned to replace after Monaco.

And then there is the story most fans missed entirely. On Sunday, the FIA delivered its first ADUO verdict -- a catch-up mechanism built into the 2026 engine regulations, designed to give struggling manufacturers additional development allowances to close the gap. Sabrina walks through what she understands, where her limitations are, and why the political movement in Barcelona may matter more than the race result.

There is also the grid walk. Martin Brundle. And a conversation about who Formula 1 is for --- and who keeps getting it wrong.

Send us Fan Mail

Support the show

Have episode feedback or ideas? Drop them a line at: sabrina@2guysagirlandf1.com

Follow 2 Guys, A Girl, and F1 on Instagram.

Check out Dick's karting documentary, Power Drive Vegas.
Interested in Dick's return to kart racing? Check out, Begin Again.

Thanks to all who have become members of the 2 Guys, A Girl, and F1 via our “Buy me A Coffee” page. This community is growing because of you. To become a member, click here.

Like the 2 Guys, A Girl, and F1 background music? It's "An Adventure Called Life" by Score Squad. It's available for purchase at Premium Beat. Use referral code SNSAEDUB at checkout to get 25% off your first purchase.

2025 Sound Engineers: Paul Douglas and Elena Richey