George Russell Is Princess Peach: Our 2026 F1 Mario Kart Season Preview

We're back, and we might disappear on you again just as fast. Nick, Todd, and Rohit return from an extended hiatus to make sense of the most chaotic F1 season in recent memory. With entirely new cars, new engines, new teams, a new broadcaster (Apple TV, baby!), and a grid that looks nothing like it did a year ago, there's no better time to dust off the mic.The guys debate whether the 2025 season (and Lando's championship) even felt real without the podcast to back it up, what the switch to Apple TV means for the sport's growth, and whether Drive to Survive still matters now that the actual racing is more dramatic than any producer could dream up. Plus: the nightmare fuel that is 2026 race starts, Aston Martin's historically bad car, the eternal question of Fernando Alonso's retirement, and a deep dive into which F1 drivers map onto Mario Kart characters.Hot takes, season predictions, and the return of Rohit's puns. Tread lightly, listener, for every review you leave, that's one more episode we're doing this season.00:00 – We're back (maybe)01:03 – Lando won... did it feel real without the pod?04:00 – The F1 Movie: Where does it land on the Rush scale?10:04 – Show format changes & the future of ExhaustNotes11:21 – Drive to Survive: does it still matter in 2026?13:45 – Apple TV takes over F1 broadcasting17:13 – Would a Drive to Survive-style show work for other motorsports?22:00 – Aston Martin blood magic & Lawrence Stroll sacrifices24:03 – 2026 race starts explained (it's going to be chaos)29:25 – RIP Yuki on the grid / his San Francisco farewell tour31:32 – The season ahead: new cars, new teams, new everything39:05 – F1 drivers as Mario Kart characters 🍄45:10 – Cadillac, Alpine, Audi & the mid-table power rankings51:41 – Constructors & Drivers Championship predictions57:18 – Rookie watch & dark horse picks1:00:54 – How many drivers will win a race in 2026?Follow on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/exhaustnotes.bsky.socialThis podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis: Spotify Ad Analytics - https://www.spotify.com/us/legal/ad-analytics-privacy-policy/