F1 Beyond The Grid

A fiery crash, a miraculous recovery, a shock disqualification, and a tense, rain-soaked title-decider. At the end of the drama-filled 1976 season, James Hunt emerged as Formula 1 World Champion. Hunt was loved by fans and respected by his rivals, particularly by Niki Lauda. The pair fought for the world title in a remarkable year in which Lauda almost lost his life. James retired from F1 as a Wor...

2026 was supposed to be the year Williams made a big step forward in Formula 1. They’d scored their first podiums under Team Principal James Vowles in 2025, all while prioritising focus on this new era of regulations, so expectations of what they could achieve this season were high. But they’ve fallen well short of those. Speaking to Tom Clarkson, James talks about the phone calls he had with Alex...

From scoring his first podium with the team in Monaco, to missing three races with a wrist injury, and then re-signing for 2027, Isack Hadjar has had an eventful first season at Red Bull Racing. Speaking to Tom Clarkson, Isack opens up about what happened to his wrist, how challenging it was to miss those races and what that new contract means to him. Plus, Isack tells Tom why he’s been ‘surprisin...

‘I did all I could to survive’. A fiery crash put his life in danger, but Romain Grosjean escaped the flames and returned to racing. As Romain tells Tom Clarkson, the crash in Bahrain was not the first time he had to rebuild his career. After a seven-race spell in Formula 1 in 2008, he was dropped for the following season. Determined to find a way back, he took a step down the motorsport ladder to...

After describing 2025 as the ‘toughest year of my career’, Yuki Tsunoda was thrilled to make his F1 comeback with Racing Bulls after the summer break – stepping in for Liam Lawson while he fills in for the injured Isack Hadjar at Red Bull. Speaking to Tom Clarkson, Yuki gives a very honest account of his struggles at Red Bull last season – revealing how it affected him personally, the biggest mist...

Aston Martin Global Ambassador Pedro de la Rosa joins Tom Clarkson to discuss how Aston are fighting back after a difficult 2026 so far. Pedro tells Tom how it really felt when they realised just how far behind they were during the Barcelona shakedown and whether the team’s strategy of waiting until halfway through the season to bring upgrades risked them losing two-time World Champion Fernando Al...

Why did he sign a new multi-year deal with Ferrari? What caused his rough patch earlier in the season? How did those struggles really make him feel? And what did victory at Silverstone mean to him after that difficult period? Speaking to Tom Clarkson, Charles Leclerc opens up and shares really interesting insight into the ups and downs he’s experienced so far in 2026. Charles also tells Tom what i...

After a year away from Formula 1, following his exit from Red Bull Racing at the end of 2024, Sergio Perez is back with the sport’s newest team - Cadillac. Speaking to Tom Clarkson, Sergio talks about his last six months at Red Bull being mentally demanding, the new perspective having a year out has given him, the initial reservations he had about returning to F1 and why the Cadillac project is ju...

1995 was a 'catastrophe' for Damon Hill, a bruising battle on and off the track. He was determined that 1996 would be his year. 30 years since his title triumph, 1996 World Champion Damon Hill joins Tom Clarkson to reflect on his winning season. From four wins in the opening five races, to finding out he was being dropped by Williams at the end of the season while still in the championship fight,...

Ferrari discovered him, trained him and gave him a place in Formula 1 with Haas. Ollie Bearman dreams of driving for the Scuderia, but with Lewis Hamilton enjoying a revival and Charles Leclerc committed long-term, what does Bearman's future hold? Speaking to Tom Clarkson, Ollie discusses what he still believes he can achieve with Haas, why this year’s results don’t reflect how much his driving ha...

Racing Bulls Team Principal Alan Permane says his exit from Alpine in 2023 was both ‘devastating’ and a ‘defining moment’ in his career. ‘Devastating’ because he’d been with Team Enstone for more than 30 years, winning World Championships with Michael Schumacher and Fernando Alonso. But ‘defining’ as it led to his first role as a Team Principal in Formula 1 – his biggest job yet. One year since ta...

Damson Idris describes playing Formula 1 rookie Joshua Pearce in F1: The Movie - the Oscar-winning, highest-grossing sports film of all time - as a life-changing moment. Speaking to Tom Clarkson a year since its release, Damson talks about racing in the F2 cars they used for the film, how he and co-star Brad Pitt compared against each other on track and what it was like to immerse himself in the w...

For 20 years, Italy waited for a driver to join Giancarlo Fisichella as a Formula 1 Grand Prix-winner. Now, Kimi Antonelli is flying Il Tricolore on the top step of the podium once again. Fisi tells Tom Clarkson about the pressures of carrying Italy’s hopes in F1 and what Kimi needs to do to end the nation’s even longer wait for a World Champion. Fisi looks back on his own F1 career - the ‘hard’ m...

Lando Norris achieved his lifelong dream in 2025, becoming Formula 1 World Champion for the first time after a rollercoaster title battle that went all the way down to the wire in Abu Dhabi. Speaking to Tom Clarkson, Lando talks about not being nervous before that season-finale, what it really means to achieve the goal he’s been chasing for so long, how becoming champion has changed him and whethe...

Flavio Briatore and ‘Team Enstone’ go back a long way. As Benetton in the 90’s, he led them to multiple World Championships with Michael Schumacher. And as Renault in the 2000s, he did the same with Fernando Alonso. So how can he achieve similar success with Alpine? Speaking to Tom Clarkson, Flavio talks about the progress the team have made since he became Executive Advisor, what he makes of his...

As a child, Formula 1 was his dream. As a young driver, he was on the same trajectory as Michael Schumacher. Tom Kristensen was offered a chance to join a Formula 1 team, but he saw it as too risky. Instead, he found success in sportscars and made history at the Le Mans 24 Hours with a record nine victories. Tom tells Tom Clarkson about the ‘risky’ offer he received from a Formula 1 team in the 19...

In Barcelona, Alex Albon became the driver with the most race starts in Williams history – surpassing Nigel Mansell’s record of 95 Grands Prix. Speaking to Tom Clarkson, Alex talks about what that milestone means to him and how he’s changed, as a driver and as a person, since joining the team in 2022. Alex also tells Tom why Williams have had a difficult start to the new era of Formula 1 and how t...

At the 1995 Canadian Grand Prix, Jean Alesi achieved the sole Grand Prix victory of his Formula 1 career. Speaking to Tom Clarkson, Jean relives the standout moments from that unforgettable moment in Montreal – like only finding out from the fans that he was leading the race, doing a lap of honour on the back of Michael Schumacher’s car, and then being whisked to the Vatican in Rome to celebrate....

He learned how to win at Ferrari. He believes Audi can become Formula 1 World Championship contenders by 2030. For Mattia Binotto, the first step is raising the ambition of every person in his team. Audi aren’t on the grid to take part. They’re there to win. The Audi Team Principal tells Tom Clarkson how he plans to turn the former Sauber team into winners. Mattia talks about the pressure and oppo...

The Formula 1 driver market is potentially just one domino away from exploding into a frenzy, so what exactly does an F1 driver need to do to get themselves into the best seat on the grid? With multiple wins, poles and podiums throughout his 15 seasons at the pinnacle of motorsport, David Coulthard was often fighting at the front. But how did he make his way into the fastest cars? Speaking to Tom...

20 years ago, Jenson Button added his name to the illustrious list of drivers to win a Formula 1 Grand Prix, when he emerged victorious at Hungary in 2006. A moment long overdue after multiple podiums, Jenson admits he did get to a point where he thought a win might never happen. So how did he feel when he finally did cross the finish line and take the chequered flag first? Speaking to Tom Clarkso...

Why would a double F1 World Champion at the height of his powers walk away from a winning car? For the 1976 season, Emerson Fittipaldi stunned the sport by leaving McLaren and setting up his own team. He wanted a challenge, and he certainly got one. 50 years later, Emerson tells Tom Clarkson why he and his brother Wilson launched Copersucar,  a team based in their home country of Brazil. He also r...

‘I’ve always been the youngest, the new kid, the underdog. It helps me not be intimidated’. Arvid Lindblad, the fourth-youngest F1 driver in history, is full of confidence. In his first race he fought wheel-to-wheel with World Champions. The Racing Bulls driver has made a fast start to his first season in Formula 1. He always believed he’d race at the top. He’s living his childhood dream and he’s...

Formula 1 has always been a dream for Colton Herta. Walking away from IndyCar to race in Formula 2 is a gamble. His reward, should he prove himself, could be an F1 drive with Cadillac. Colton has come close to F1 before. This time he’s determined to make it. Speaking on the day he had a seat-fit for Cadillac’s F1 car, Colton Herta tells Tom Clarkson about growing up at racetracks with his father,...

At this year’s season-opening Australian Grand Prix, Bernd Maylander reached a remarkable milestone of 500 races as the FIA Safety Car Driver. Speaking to Tom Clarkson, Bernd reflects on how the Safety Car and his job have evolved since his first race back in 2000 and some of the most iconic races he’s been involved in over the last 25 years. He talks through what a Grand Prix weekend looks like f...