Essential F1

Max is back! Chaos in Sepang as Verstappen wins in the wet Nicola Hume and legendary F1 commentator Ben Edwards react to a wild Bah-rain Grand Prix. They're joined by BTCC and Formula E presenter Nicki Shields. 2026 cars in the rain: The first wet race for the new-spec cars caused trouble for Ferrari, Red Bull and more. Should the affected cars have been allowed to restart? 2Max Attack: A vintage...

A race of three parts, carnage at turn one, and a podcast first — nobody scored a single prediction point! Nicola Hume is joined by F1 commentary legend Ben Edwards and special guest, former BBC F1 presenter Holly Samos, to unpack a wild weekend in Azerbaijan — plus look ahead to a long-awaited return to Sepang for the Bahrain Grand Prix (in Malaysia!). And make sure you listen to Holly's amazing...

Lando Norris was robbed thanks to the VSC. Nicola Hume and Ben Edwards unpack a disappointing Madrid Grand Prix, and they're joined by former racing driver and legendary motoring presenter Vicki Butler-Henderson to deliver her annual grades on the entire class of 2026 so far — every driver, every team, no hiding place! In this episode Hamilton vs Verstappen at turn one: incident or advantage? Coul...

Ferrari Meltdown, Russell Robbed & Colin Furze Joins Us | Essential F1 Grazie Monza! Sixty years of waiting, and Italy finally has a home winner again. Kimi Antonelli started P19 after a power unit grid penalty, made 25 overtakes, set the fastest lap and became the first Italian to win his home Grand Prix since 1966 — and the Tifosi absolutely lost it. Nicola Hume and the Godfather of F1 comme...

F1 is back — and Zandvoort sent itself off in style. 🇳🇱 Nicola and Ben are joined by the legendary Louise Goodman to unpack a Dutch Grand Prix that had everything: a Russell sprint masterclass, Lando Norris making it two in a row, and Max Verstappen celebrating his shiny new Red Bull contract with a first-lap trip into the barriers. On the agenda this week: Russell watch — sprint pole converted, s...

Lando Norris wins in Budapest to become F1 2026's FIFTH different Grand Prix winner — and McLaren look like they're back in championship contention.  Nicola and Ben are joined by F1 reporter and author Rachel Brookes to break down all the drama from the Hungaroring, tell us what really happened with Sky F1 and look ahead to Zandvoort. 🟠 Papaya Rules Return — Oscar Piastri leads off the line only...

George Russell's weekend went from bad to worse: slower than teammate Kimi Antonelli all weekend, punted off by Hamilton on lap one, and now 50 points adrift in the championship. Can he salvage his season before the summer break? Jennie Gow steps in for Nicola as she and Ben Edwards break down an absorbing Belgium Grand Prix.  Kimi Antonelli bags his sixth win of the season and looks utterly untou...

SILVERSTONE DELIVERED CHAOS AND WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT IT. The 2026 British Grand Prix had everything—a first-time winner, championship drama, controversial penalties, technical failures, and an FIA safety car decision that's got the whole paddock talking. This is Essential F1 Episode 11, and we're breaking down every moment. Kimi Antonelli came into Silverstone with a 25-point championship lead an...

George Russell finally puts together a complete race weekend—and takes victory in Austria! After a rollercoaster season, Russell held off pressure from both Max Verstappen and championship leader Kimi Antonelli to claim a crucial win at the Red Bull Ring. But was he a bit lucky with those yellow flags in qualifying? And can he carry this momentum into his home race at Silverstone? In this episode,...

Lewis Hamilton is a Grand Prix winner again—and this time in Ferrari red! After 686 days without a victory, the seven-time world champion finally stood on the top step at Barcelona, finishing a massive 19 seconds clear of George Russell's Mercedes. But was it the Ferrari upgrades, the strategy, or something else entirely? We discuss. In this episode, Nicola Hume and Ben Edwards are joined by motor...

The Monaco Grand Prix delivered drama, heartbreak, and a pit lane speed gun having the weekend of its life. Nicola Hume and Ben Edwards are joined by F1 legend Mark Blundell to break down all the talking points from the streets of Monte Carlo. In this episode: 🏎️ Tale of Two Red Bulls — Max's cruel luck versus Hadjar's breakthrough podium. Should Red Bull actually feel positive? 🏎️ Ferrari Frictio...

F1 delivered a brilliant weekend of racing at the legendary Circuit Gilles Villenueve in Montreal. The Canadian Grand Prix had driver battles, tyre strategy disasters, two legends back on the Podium and amazing marshalls. Joining Ben Edwards and Nicola Hume to dissect all the action from Montreal, is BBC & Sky F1 Commentator, Harry Benjamin.  Plus we look ahead to the iconic Monaco Grand Prix...

As we have some time between the Miami GP and Canadian GP, we are filling the gap with an exclusive interview with Haas F1 Team Principal, Ayao Komatsu.  We were honoured to be joined by Ayao to chat about his life in F1, how the Haas 2026 season is shaping up and so much more, including: How to say Ayao Komatsu properly! Haas F1 performance so far this season Preparation for the 2026 Formula 1 se...

The 2026 F1 season is back with a dramatic race in Miami. It looks like the teams have been very busy, even if some of the drivers haven't! Kimi Antonelli become the first ever F1 driver to win his first three races from his first three pole positions and has definitely put George Russell in the shade. McLaren showed that they've still got it with Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris both putting in str...

This year's Japanese Grand Prix was definitely more interesting than last year's. Kimi Antonelli's wins makes him the youngest driver to top the F1 leaderboard and puts George Russell in quite an awkward place.  Great to see McLaren back on the podium after such a bad start to their season and does this mean that we have a Championship fight coming up, but what about Max Verstappen? Another weeken...

Congratulations to F1's newest winner, Kimi Antonelli, who put in a blistering shift to win the Chinese GP. And he was joined on the podium by his team-mate George Russell, Bono and Lewis Hamilton who looked like a proud dad. Lewis said that it was some of the best racing he's ever experienced and Ferrari are back in form, but could they have had both cars on the podium rather than letting the dri...

Formula One returned for 2026 with the Australian Grand Prix at Albert Park in Melbourne. New Season and new rules set the scene for an interesting race from the the start.  Joining Nicola Hume and Ben Edwards for the debrief is broadcaster and host of the BBC's F1: Back At Base, Holly Samos.  Ferrari are back. Charles Leclerc on the podium, but could they have won? Welcome Arvin Lindblad. What a...

With the biggest change in rules for years, there's a lot of new stuff to get our heads around for Formula One this season. Ben, Tommo and Vicki are here to tell you about all the tech including aero, energy recovery and boost.

New Season. New Rules. New Studio! We are back with Essential F1 - the Formula 1 podcast that's essential for everybody who's into F1. The Oracle - Ben Edwards, is here to guide us through what will be a very interesting season, with the biggest set of rule changes in a generation. Joining Ben to discuss what pre-season testing has shown us and to run through all the teams, is ‪@TommoMcCluskey‬ an...

Congratulations to Lando Norris, the 10th British driver to become Formula 1 Champion. With the whole season coming down to the last race, Lando, Max Verstappen and Oscar Piastri were all in contention. All Lando needed to do was keep his cool, and that's exactly what he did to win the title and 2025 F1 Drivers' Championship.  As it's last episode of Midweek F1 for the 2025 season we thought we'd...

What a weekend at Lusail for the Qatar Grand Prix!  McLaren had it in the bag, but what went wrong and what does this mean for the final race of the season? This is even more like a Hollywood F1 movie than the actual Hollywood F1 movie.  Oscar Piastri, Lando Norris and Max Verstappen have all had an incredible 2025 season in their own way and any one of them could be crowned Formula 1 Champion thi...

What a weekend in the desert of Nevada for the Formula 1 Las Vegas Grand Prix. McLaren F1 will certainly hope that what happened in Vegas stays in Vegas. Although it wasn't the most exciting race of the year, there's lots to talk about between now and next weekend in Qatar.  Thanks to both McLaren's being disqualified, the Driver's Championship battle goes on. Could Max Verstappen achieve the seem...

What a race weekend in Brazil, overtaking for fun, crashes and penalties!  It looked like a clean start then turned into an early safety car, and the restart was bonkers with Piastri, Antonelli and Le Clerc going three wide, with Le Clerc out as a result.  Then there was a virtual safety car, Max got a puncture and changed tyres, he then ripped through the field.  Piastri got a 10 second penalty f...

It's advantage Lando Norris as he leads the 2025 F1 Championship by 1 point after a fantastic race weekend in Mexico. And we've got not just one, but two voices of Formula 1 in the studio this week as we welcome back BBC 5Live and Sky commentator Harry Benjamin to join Ben Edwards and Nicola Hume.  The Mexico GP was like a Rallycross race with so many people on the grass, and then lots of penaltie...

The Cowboys were out in force for the United States Grand Prix in Austin this weekend and the Sheriff was most definitely Max Verstappen with a sprint race win followed by a Grand Prix victory.  The drama started a day early in Austin with a first lap crash in the sprint race that took out both McLarens, compounded by Max winning again!  Giving him a further 8 point swing in the championship. Then...