Our 2026 Bahrain GP (in Malaysia) predictions

Key takeaways

• Tommy locks in McLaren as his "good surprise" pick, citing the team's upgrades in Baku and Piastri's pace before his mistake, while Matt goes with Liam Lawson for a bounce-back result at RB, arguing Lawson was underrated after jumping straight into the car and out-qualifying Lindblad.
• Both hosts flag major uncertainty from the weather forecast, with BBC Weather showing roughly 40% rain chances for both Saturday and Sunday sessions at Sepang, a track neither has seen raced on in years, making the whole prediction session harder than usual.
• Ferrari's slump becomes a running joke: Matt picks them as his "big flop," noting they've gone five straight races without a podium despite every other top team scoring one, while Tommy still bets on Leclerc for third and a Patreon prediction has Ferrari sneaking back onto the podium.
• For the podium, Matt goes with a scrambled top three of Kimi Antonelli (P2) and Lando Norris, while ultimately naming Max Verstappen for the win despite Verstappen not winning a single race all season; Tommy predicts an all-Mercedes front with George Russell for pole, third, and eventually the win, banking on Russell's redemption after his strong Baku drive.
• A "crazy prediction" segment has Tommy betting on zero rain during any competitive session all weekend despite the forecast, while Matt predicts a Mercedes-on-Mercedes incident between Russell and Antonelli at the Turn 1 hairpin (Pak Fermi), possibly during a side-by-side battle reminiscent of their Canada clash.
• The "family top three" bit has Tommy calling his sister and dad live on air for their podium picks; his dad independently lands on the exact same Russell-Antonelli-Verstappen order as Matt's own prediction, prompting Tommy to jokingly ban his dad from future rounds.

Notable moments

• Tommy shows up wearing a "Mind the Gap" London Underground-themed shirt to needle Matt about his 15-point deficit.
• Matt: "I do genuinely think that McLaren will be... they brought a lot of upgrades to Baku."
• On Ferrari: "McLaren, can you just one-two this and Ferrari finish last? I don't care at this point."
• Tommy recalls Ferrari's brutal run: "the last five races, they've not got a podium, which is mad."
• Matt flip-flops on his podium picks live, admitting "I've made a decision, third place George Russell... I changed it three different times."
• The random-number "P-what" round lands on 17th place, and both hosts instantly say Bottas—Matt jokes fans should "click better next time" for a tougher number.
• Tommy's sister answers his call live on the show, unaware it's for the podcast, and picks Hamilton, Verstappen, and Antonelli for the podium.
• Tommy's dad picks the exact same top three as Matt (Russell, Antonelli, Verstappen), leading Tommy to declare it "slander" and joke his dad is now banned from the segment.

Time saved: 22 minutes.