F1 Beyond The Grid

2024 saw McLaren become Constructor World Champions for the first time since 1998. Will they defend their title in 2025? And will Lando Norris or Oscar Piastri become the team’s first Drivers’ World Champion since Lewis Hamilton in 2008? Tom Clarkson has been digging through the F1 Beyond The Grid archives to find out how McLaren have transformed into the fastest team in Formula 1 and whether thei...

Lewis Hamilton is getting ready for his first season with Ferrari in 2025. He’s won seven World Championships and 105 races, but some of Formula 1’s most successful drivers have joined Ferrari in the past and missed out on the ultimate prize. So what lessons can Lewis take from those who came before him? How difficult is it to win titles with the Scuderia? And why is driving for Ferrari so differe...

What really happens on the grid before a race? How do Formula 1 teams scout their future stars? How are drivers coached to go faster?  In 2024, F1 Explains answered these questions and many more sent in by F1 fans from all over the world. F1 Explains takes your questions and finds the experts to answer them. In this special episode, presenters Christian Hewgill and Katie Osborne have picked the mo...

A driver market for the ages, Verstappen at his very best, emotional race wins, new Constructor World Champions and the end of some iconic eras. The 2024 Formula 1 season was sensational. On F1 Beyond The Grid, the stars of this dramatic year of racing have sat down with Tom Clarkson, revealing what it’s like being at the centre of the biggest stories of the season and sharing fascinating insight...

Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes: their names are together forever in the Formula 1 record books. As the most successful team and driver partnership in the sport's history comes to an end, some of Lewis Hamilton's Mercedes colleagues tell Tom Clarkson their stories of working with him:   Toto Wolff – Team Principal, on how Lewis got stronger every year of their partnership Andrew Shovlin – Trackside En...

This episode is presented by Explora Journeys - redefining luxury ocean travel. 2024 has been a turbulent year for Carlos Sainz. It started with a shock: Lewis Hamilton would be replacing him at Ferrari in 2025. Then he missed a race with appendicitis. But the year is ending with multiple wins and podiums to look back on, and an exciting new challenge to look forward to with Williams next season. ...

2024 has been a rollercoaster for this week’s guest on F1 Beyond The Grid. While the end of the season provides a chance for reflection, he’s also looking forward to an exciting new venture in 2025.     Hear a preview of the episode with Tom Clarkson now and then you can listen to the conversation in full on your podcast app, or watch on the official F1 YouTube channel, from Wednesday 4th December...

This episode is brought to you by Salesforce, a Global Partner of Formula 1® Aston Martin Sporting Director Andy Stevenson reached a huge milestone in Las Vegas, working at his 600th Grand Prix. It’s a sensational achievement made even more remarkable by the fact that all 600 races have been with the same team. A driver winning with a broken leg, another going to jail halfway through the season, p...

This episode is brought to you by T-Mobile, official 5G partner of F1 Las Vegas Grand Prix Why did Oliver Oakes become Alpine Team Principal? How does his background as a racing driver and team owner prepare him for this new challenge? And what are his priorities in 2025 and beyond? Speaking to Tom Clarkson at the team’s headquarters in Enstone, Oakes answers all the key questions around Alpine’s...

He’s one of the most experienced drivers in F1 history, who won races for championship teams Ferrari and Brawn GP.  During his long career, Rubens Barrichello had to cope with the loss of his legendary countryman, Ayrton Senna, and the challenge of carrying the hopes of Brazilian fans afterwards. At Ferrari, Rubens went up against a dominant Michael Schumacher, and while he never won a title, he p...

Nephew of two-time Formula 1 World Champion Emerson and son of Brazilian F1 team owner Wilson, Christian Fittipaldi was destined to follow in his family’s footsteps and race in the pinnacle of motorsport. Speaking to Tom Clarkson in his home city of Sao Paulo, Christian reflects on his three seasons on the grid with the Footwork and Minardi teams in the early 1990’s. He talks about what it was lik...

Despite being a hugely versatile racing driver, who competed in Formula 3000, IndyCar, Sports Cars and Touring Cars, Christian Danner was unable to showcase his full potential in Formula 1 in the mid-late 1980s. During an era characterised by poor reliability and pre-qualifying, he either failed to start many of the races he entered, or he failed to finish them. But that certainly doesn’t mean he’...

This episode is brought to you by Salesforce, a Global Partner of Formula 1®. Fernando Alonso will become the first driver in Formula 1 history to compete in 400 Grands Prix when he races in Mexico this weekend. It’s a monumental milestone that even Alonso didn’t think he’d reach. Hear why the two-time World Champion thought he’d leave F1 at the end of 2009 and how changes in his relationship with...

This week’s guest on F1 Beyond The Grid will make history at the Mexico City Grand Prix – how did he get this far and what’s next? Hear a preview of the episode with Tom Clarkson now and then you can listen to the conversation in full on your podcast app, or watch on the official F1 YouTube channel from Wednesday 23rd October. More official F1 Podcasts F1 Nation - Grand Prix reviews and previews f...

Tom Stallard, Oscar Piastri’s race engineer and McLaren’s Director of Human Performance, is a man of many talents. As a professional rower, he won an Olympic silver medal and became World Champion. As an engineer in Formula 1, he’s won races with some of the sport’s most talented drivers and has played a huge part in McLaren’s transformation into title contenders. So why did Tom make such a big ca...

After a decade of highs and lows as Haas Team Principal, Guenther Steiner has changed lanes. Now he’s an author and broadcaster with a new perspective on the drivers, the teams and the bosses he previously saw as rivals. Talking to Tom Clarkson, Guenther looks back at his time at Haas, from their stunning points-scoring debut in 2016, through triumphs, frustrations and low moments, to his departur...

‘For 2025, I think we have the best driver line-up on the grid’. Williams Team Principal James Vowles is confident. Race-winner Carlos Sainz joins proven performer Alex Albon next year – a combination of speed and experience Vowles believes will drive Williams forward. He tells Tom Clarkson his long-term vision for the historic team. 2024 has been a year of big decisions for Williams. Vowles expla...

Red Bull Team Principal Christian Horner gives Tom Clarkson and Damon Hill the inside story on the decision to replace Daniel Ricciardo with Liam Lawson at RB. Horner reveals the race when pressure began to mount on the Australian, and why Ricciardo was replaced with six races remaining. With one eye on 2025 and the future of the Red Bull driver line up, is this a chance for Liam Lawson to stake a...

Points on his surprise debut with Ferrari. Another top 10 with Haas. Ollie Bearman has made a flying start in Formula 1. In 2025 with Haas, he’s got the chance to show what he can do every race weekend. Ollie tells Tom Clarkson about stepping up from Formula 2, handling the pressure when he got the last-minute call to race for Ferrari in Saudi Arabia, the advice Charles Leclerc gave him, and how h...

For a driver who only qualified for nine Formula 1 races in three seasons, German racing legend Bernd Schneider sure has some epic stories from his short stint on the grid in the late 1980’s and early ‘90’s. Speaking to Tom Clarkson, Schneider talks about how close he came to denying Michael Schumacher his F1 debut and the huge contract Eddie Jordan offered him to return to the sport. Bernd, who w...

Just 19 months after making his debut with Renault, Jolyon Palmer lost his seat with four races of the 2017 season still remaining and his Formula 1 career was over. So where did it all go wrong for the 2014 GP2 champion?  Speaking to Tom Clarkson, Palmer dissects all the ups and downs of his year and a half on the grid. He talks about facing unique challenges to prove his worth on track, why he d...

Now in his fourth year as a Formula 1 driver, Yuki Tsunoda says he’s starting to show his ‘full potential’.  Frequently beating his VCARB teammate, eight-time Grand Prix winner Daniel Ricciardo, in qualifying and on race day, the Japanese star’s driving has attracted a lot of attention in 2024. So how and why has Yuki improved so much and what does his future hold? Is promotion to VCARB's senior t...

With 13 wins from 18 races, Michael Schumacher’s seventh and final World Championship was his best season in Formula 1. Still to this day, Schumacher is the only driver to have won five titles in a row as he and Ferrari dominated F1 from 2000 to 2004.  So why was the German at his most ruthless during that last triumph in ‘04? 20 years on, Tom Clarkson speaks to McLaren Team Principal Andrea Stell...

After winning his home race for the first time in 2024, Charles Leclerc has just one more item to tick off his Formula 1 bucket list. But can the Monegasque and Ferrari still become World Champions together? Speaking to Tom Clarkson, Leclerc reflects on that special victory at the Monaco Grand Prix, the reasons behind Ferrari’s struggles since then and why he’s confident of future success with the...

Tom Clarkson is back, speaking to a current F1 star ahead of the Dutch Grand Prix. Listen for a preview, then hear the full in-depth interview on Wednesday 21st August. Follow F1 Beyond The Grid to get the episode delivered to your podcast app as soon as it’s released