The Chicane

Southcast

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Episodes

  1. 3 days ago

    The British Grand Prix Is Ripping Off Its Own Fans

    We love Silverstone. That's important to say upfront.The British Grand Prix is one of the greatest races on the Formula 1 calendar. The atmosphere, the history, the crowds, the circuit itself — Silverstone is everything a Formula 1 race should be. We were there this year. We had an incredible time.And we came home absolutely furious about the prices.Because here's what it actually costs to attend the British Grand Prix in 2026.£300 for a Sunday ticket. £150 for parking. £8 for a pint. £40 for a hat. £20 for a programme. £18 for a meal deal.Let that sink in. A family of four attending the British Grand Prix on Sunday — tickets, parking, a round of drinks and something to eat — is looking at well over £1,500 before they've bought a single piece of merchandise or paid for travel.This isn't a premium experience surcharge. This is profiteering. And it's happening at a race that has always prided itself on being the home of British motorsport — a race that was built on passionate, loyal fans who have been coming to Silverstone for decades.Because here's what makes this different to Monaco or Las Vegas. Nobody pretends those races are for ordinary fans. They're luxury events with luxury price tags and everyone knows it going in. But Silverstone has always felt different. It's always felt like it belongs to the fans. The campsites. The queues. The standing sections. The sense that this is a people's race.And the prices are quietly killing that.Because £150 for parking isn't a premium. It's a barrier. £8 for a pint isn't hospitality pricing. It's exploitation. And £300 for a Sunday ticket — for a race that starts at 3pm and is over by 5 — is becoming genuinely difficult to justify for the fans who have been coming here their entire lives.We love Silverstone. We want to keep going. But if the prices keep rising at this rate, a lot of the fans who made this race what it is won't be able to afford to.And that should worry everyone.

    12 min
  2. 30 June

    Austrian GP Review: Russell Won... But Verstappen Stole The Show

    George Russell won the Austrian Grand Prix. His second win of the season. His seventh career victory. Pole position converted into a controlled, hard fought win at the Red Bull Ring.And somehow, that's not the headline.Because Max Verstappen recovered from fifth to second, closing down Russell's lead lap after lap in brutal Spielberg heat, and along the way produced exactly the kind of drive that reminds you why he's a four-time world champion. More than once during that recovery, Verstappen went wheel to wheel with Lewis Hamilton. Properly wheel to wheel. The kind of racing that immediately took us back to 2021.Five years later. Different teams, different stakes, same intensity.So that's our verdict on Austria. Russell won the race. Verstappen won the weekend.Because here's where the championship stands now. Russell has cut Antonelli's lead at the top of the standings to just 40 points. Antonelli had a messy opening stint and only found real pace too late, finishing third behind Verstappen. Ferrari, who looked genuinely competitive in qualifying with Leclerc on the front row, fell away badly in the race — Hamilton finishing fifth, Leclerc eighth after tyre struggles. And Norris endured a quiet, forgettable afternoon in seventh, miles from where McLaren need to be.But the racing itself. The racing was exceptional.Because when you actually watch what happened at the front of that field — the overtakes, the battles, the margins, the drama right up until the chequered flag — it's hard not to wonder whether the 2026 regulations are doing exactly what they were supposed to do. Closer racing. More unpredictability. Genuine battles rather than processions.We've said it before and Austria proved it again.

    13 min
  3. 26 June

    Sainz Said No To Audi. Now He’s Saying Yes!

    Two years ago, Carlos Sainz had a choice. Ferrari had just announced Lewis Hamilton was taking his seat. Sainz was a free agent, a four-time Grand Prix winner, and one of the most sought-after drivers on the grid. Audi came calling. Mattia Binotto — his former Ferrari boss, a man who knows exactly what Sainz is capable of — made him an offer. Even his father, Carlos Sainz Senior, reportedly wanted him to take it. Sainz said no. He chose Williams instead. At the time, it made sense. Williams were on the rise. They had Mercedes power. They had James Vowles rebuilding the team from the ground up. They finished fifth in the 2025 constructors’ championship. The future looked bright.And then 2026 happened.Williams arrived at the opening race overweight and uncompetitive. They missed pre-season testing. After seven rounds they are 251 points behind Mercedes. Sainz is 14th in the drivers’ championship with six points. At Barcelona he finished two laps down. Two laps. And Vowles has now admitted the team won’t realistically be fighting at the front until 2028.Sainz is 31 years old. He doesn’t have until 2028.So now the rumours are swirling. Multiple sources are reporting that Sainz is questioning his Williams future. Audi — led by Binotto, backed by one of the biggest manufacturers in the world, and making a reasonable start to their first F1 season — are reportedly back in the conversation. The deal he walked away from two years ago is apparently back on the table.And this time, Williams have given him every reason to take it.Because here’s the question. Was Sainz right to choose Williams over Audi in the first place? And if he leaves now — if he walks away from a team he helped rebuild — does it mean Williams are in even more trouble than anyone thought?

    21 min

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