Motorsport101

643: Palou vs Newgarden - IndyCar 2026, The Story So Far

Sorry it's taken a bit longer than billed, but here's a big IndyCar catchup Podcast before our Arlington episode drops this weekend as the season finally takes a proper chill week!Dre and RJ wrap-up a very straightforward beat em' up weekend for Alex Palou in St Petersberg as Marcus Ericsson and Scott McLaughlin could only try to keep up, but spend the majority of the time catching up on all things Phoenix, returning to the IndyCar calendar for the first time in eight years, and with it - A huge win for Josef Newgarden to dethrone Alex Palou's 22-race streak of leading the standings.How we got there? Another Palou and Rinus Veekay collision on an oval. Whoops. Phoenix also gave us another potentially brilliant oval performance from Christian Rasmussen, who RJ has now nicknamed "Mr Excitement" was on the brink of a potential win, until he had a crash with Will Power in the late stages, damaging his car out of competition. All that and more discussed as Dre and RJ go in depth on the season so far, in this episode of Motorsport101!

642: An Electric Debate - 2026 F1 Australian Grand Prix Review

After all the talk, all the hype and all the debate, the 2026 F1 Season finally got underway at the Australian Grand Prix in Albert Park, and it was a hectic event to say the least. Adrian Newey said his car was unsafe for purpose before we even turned a wheel!Mercedes were every bit the bookies favourite many thought they were, taking complete control of the weekend with a 1-2 finish. But we didn't get there without a huge FP3 crash and a race against the clock for the Mercedes pitcrew to fix it in time. Not ideal! It also had to deal with Max Verstappen spinning into the wall, Ferrari punching them in the nose via a lightning start, and Oscar Piastri crashing on his sighting lap. Strange way of keeping the curse alive. Dre and RJ debate all of that, as well as promising signs out of Red Bull's Isack Hadjar, Gabriel Bortoleto scoring points for Audi on debut, Arvid Lindblad doing the same for Racing Bulls, and why Aston Martin is even more fucked than we thought. And are they throwing Honda under the bus?

641: The Hater's Guide To The 2026 F1 Season

And finally, just in the nick of time, here's our F1 Season Preview! Dre, Cam and RJ break down everything you need to know about the 2026 season, from the brand new car, the complicated new mechanics behind them, and then go team-by-team breaking down the state of the field!Aston Martin gets moved to the top of the order as we examine their pre-season from hell, and an AMR26 that feels unfinished as it gets unwrapped at Albert Park. We join them alongside the new team in Cadillac and how their first steps into F1 have gone down, and Williams, who are rumoured to be heavily overweight again.Then there's the midfield, which could be a very nasty scrap between Haas, the new repackaged Audi team, Racing Bulls and Britain's youngest ever F1 driver in Arvid Lindblad, and a return to form for Alpine, now powered by Mercedes.And then the top contenders, who all think someone else amongst them are fastest. Red Bull scaring the field early with powerful energy deployment, Ferrari's innovations like a smaller turbo and a "Rotisserie Chicken" active rear wing, and then Mercedes the heavy favourites vs the quiet McLaren as reigning Champions, but why? All that and more in a heaped final M101 before F1 2026 kicks off!

640: Bez Beats Blowouts - 2026 MotoGP Thai Grand Prix Review

The first regular episode of the Motorsport101 Podcast in quite sometime as our main series kick off to start 2026, and here comes MotoGP's Season Opener from Buriram for the Thai Grand Prix. And for Marco Bezzecchi, he started 2026 how he ended 2025, with victory!Aprilia's greatest day in MotoGP, with all, four of their bikes in the Top 5, taking advantage of Michelin's stiffer casing on their tyres, and an F-Duct device last seen in Formula 1 in 2010 with McLaren. As you do! But the weekend also had a controversial moment in the Sprint Race as Marc Marquez was stripped off the win due to an illegal overtake on Pedro Acosta in a fight that both men seemingly loved. Was it the right call? Dre, RJ and Cam discuss!There's also more on the state of Yamaha's struggles, whether Ducati should be nervous and more!

639: The Hater's Guide To The 2026 MotoGP Season

Man, we flew in terms of pace on this one. 20 minutes on the big track news and we still got it done in less than 100. Go us!Dre Harrison, Cam Buckley and RJ O'Connell sit down to preview the 2026 MotoGP Season, and it's off the back of some heated circuit news - Phillip Island, the holy grail of MotoGP races in Australia, is moving to the Adelaide Street Circuit in 2027, on a six-year deal. There's a lot going on there, in terms of Australian Politics, the nature of whether promoters are obligated to support their races, is a street circuit safe enough for bikes? It goes on and on, and we talk about it.Afterwards, a review of all 5 factories heading into the 2026 MotoGP season starting this weekend in Buriram, Thailand. Yamaha's awful winter of discontent and dealing with the potential loss of its franchise player. Honda's silent improvement and confidence in challenging for wins. KTM's more stable future, but might be dealing with life after Pedro Acosta. Aprilia, and more aero than god, and can they challenge Ducati, who have made so many power moves, Pecco Bagnaia is surplus to requirements?  All that and more in Season Preview Season, Part 2!