F1 Beyond The Grid

He's been called ‘The Voice of F1’ - and for good reason. For more than 25 years, Murray Walker provided commentary on Grand Prix racing for the majority of the English-speaking world - and always in his own inimitable style.  This week on a special 1000th race edition of Beyond The Grid, supported by Bose, host Tom Clarkson speaks to the legendary British broadcaster, a man whose exhilarating, ex...

He's the colourful Team Principal of the American Haas team, and thanks to an unforgettable appearance in the recent Netflix documentary series Formula 1: Drive To Survive, Guenther Steiner has also become something of a fan favourite.  This week on Beyond The Grid, supported by Bose, the Italian joins host Tom Clarkson for a lively conversation about his fascinating career to date, from his early...

He was handed arguably the biggest job in motor racing in his mid-twenties, when none other than Enzo Ferrari made him Sporting Director of his famous team. But rather than falter under such pressure, Luca Di Montezemolo flourished. In the Seventies, as the 'Old Man's' trusted man on the ground at races, he led the team to their first world titles in over a decade. Then in the Nineties, after seve...

David Coulthard arrived in F1 amid one of its most turbulent periods, getting his big break at Williams in 1994 after the tragic death of superstar driver Ayrton Senna. He’d go on to race in 246 Grands Prix, winning 13 of them, including two victories each at classic venues Monaco and Silverstone. But amid the champagne celebrations there were bumpy periods too – moments of self-doubt and big cras...

He exploded onto the F1 scene in 2001 as a 21-year-old super rookie – barely any experience, but tons of raw speed.  In the years that followed, Kimi Raikkonen became an F1 icon, winning 21 races for McLaren and Ferrari and the 2007 world championship crown before taking a sabbatical where he raced almost everything else with four wheels. Grand Prix racing’s resident Iceman remains the same unflin...

Beyond The Grid is back Wednesday 13th March.  Make sure you subscribe now so you don't miss out on Tom Clarkson in conversation with 'The Iceman' himself: the one and only Kimi Raikkonen.

On January 3rd 2019, Michael Schumacher – statistically the most successful F1 driver of all-time – turned 50. To commemorate the occasion, last week Tom brought you a special conversation with Ross Brawn - the man who helped guide Schumacher to all but three of his 91 Grand Prix victories.  This week, for our second and final special episode, Tom is back with an equally revealing chat with Sabine...

On January 3rd 2019, Michael Schumacher – statistically the most successful F1 driver of all-time – turns 50. To commemorate the occasion, Beyond The Grid is back with two special conversations with two people who know the great man better than most.  Our first guest worked with Schumacher for all but three of his record 91 Grand Prix victories, and helped steer him to amazing seven world titles w...

This week marks the season finale of Beyond The Grid - but don't worry, we'll be back before you know it in 2019 with more conversations with the great and the good of Grand Prix racing (and much more besides). But before the chequered flag flies, there's just enough time for Tom to pick out some of his top moments of 2018. So stand by for a few laughs, a few tears and a few eye-opening revelation...

Though he's been in F1 a long time, you may not have been overly familiar with Otmar Szafnauer before this year. As COO of Force India, the American played a key role in turning them into one of the best pound for pound teams on the grid. But when driver Sergio Perez pulled the trigger and sent the Silverstone squad into administration in mid-2018, Szafnauer found himself on a course that ultimate...

He streaked into F1 in 2001; a spectacular no-holds-barred racer unafraid to go wheel-to-wheel with the biggest names in the sport. But though he made a big splash, winning seven races, including the Monaco Grand Prix, Juan Pablo Montoya’s Formula 1 career lasted just five-and-a-half seasons before he suddenly said goodbye to Grand Prix racing for good. On this week’s episode of Beyond The Grid, p...

This week, for the first time on Beyond The Grid, presented by Bose, we’re not speaking to a driver or a team boss, but to an engineer – and someone who’s been directly involved of some of the biggest moments in F1 in the past 20 years. Rob Smedley is probably best known to most fans as Felipe Massa’s long-standing Race Engineer, and in that role he experienced the full gamut of emotions, from the...

He's the granddaddy of Brazilian motorsport; a true trailblazer who, having become F1's youngest ever world champion in 1972, inspired a generation of exceptional talent in his homeland, including Nelson Piquet and Ayrton Senna. Emerson Fittipaldi saw it all in his Grand Prix career, from the highs of winning two world titles, 14 races, and two Indy 500s, to the lows of seeing multiple colleagues...

F1 has seen its fair share of second generation racers, but Carlos Sainz doesn't quite fit the mould. The natural script would have been for him to follow his famous father and namesake into rallying, but while Carlos Sainz Sr became a double world champion on the dirt, his son set his sights on F1 after being inspired by countryman Fernando Alonso.  In this week's Beyond The Grid, presented by Bo...

To say Claire Williams has racing in her blood would be an understatement. But despite being born into and raised around one of F1’s most successful teams, it’s fair to say she never expected to one day find herself taking the reins of her family squad.  On this week’s episode of Beyond The Grid, presented by Bose, the daughter of legendary team boss Sir Frank Williams spills the beans on how she...

He’s regarded as one of the very best drivers of all-time; a man who, when he walked away from F1, had amassed three world championship titles and a then-record 27 Grand Prix victories. But that he was able to walk away at all was something of a success in itself, for so many of his friend and rivals were not so fortunate in an era when death lurked around every corner.  This week’s guest on Beyon...

He’s the only man in the last nine years other than Lewis Hamilton or Sebastian Vettel to win a world title. But what makes Nico Rosberg’s story so compelling is what happened immediately after his crowning glory when, seemingly at the peak of his powers, he walked away from F1.  On this week’s episode of Beyond The Grid, presented by Bose, the German talks in depth about his career, including wha...

It takes a special kind of driver to get the call to race for Ferrari with less than a season of Grand Prix racing under your belt - especially when the man you’re set to replace is a world champion. Charles Leclerc is that driver.  The young man from Monaco has shown flashes of brilliance this year while racing for Sauber, but it’s not just his skills behind the wheel that set him apart - it’s hi...

  He’s one of racing’s toughest nuts – a man who refused to let potentially life-changing injuries stand in the way of his dream of racing in Formula 1.  This week on Beyond The Grid, presented by Bose, we’re joined by Johnny Herbert, a man for whom the phrase ‘triumph over adversity’ seems tailor made. Once the bright young hope of British Motorsport, Herbert’s career came to an abrupt halt when...

Daniel Ricciardo’s shock decision to quit Red Bull for Renault in 2019 sent shockwaves through the F1 world – but for rising star Pierre Gasly, it handed him the biggest opportunity of his career so far. After a season and a bit of dazzling drives with Toro Rosso, the young Frenchman was promoted to Red Bull as team mate to none other than Max Verstappen.  On this episode of Beyond The Grid, prese...

The word legend is often bandied about in sports, but this week’s guest on Beyond The Grid, presented by Bose, is truly worthy of the moniker.  As a driver, Alain Prost set new standards, establishing a win record that only three drivers in history have surpassed – and he did it against some of the greatest talents in F1 history. His inimitable approach earned him the nickname The Professor, but i...

He's presided over one of the most successful F1 teams of all time - and had to manage one of the most heated rivalries in history. So what exactly makes Mercedes chief Toto Wolff tick?  On this week's episode of Beyond The Grid, presented by Bose, the thoughtful Austrian lifts the lid on running a team - including dealing with the 'volcano-like' relationship between Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosber...

Running an F1 team is a demanding job. When that team is Ferrari, the pressure rises dramatically. Stefano Domenicali knows all about that.  On the latest episode of Beyond The Grid, presented by Bose, the Italian recalls his 23 years at the Prancing Horse, which peaked with him taking the reins as Team Principal. He delivers fascinating insight into working with Michael Schumacher, during what wa...

There's no doubt that Formula 1 drivers live a largely glamorous life. But to say it's all roses would be far from the truth - and this week's guest on Beyond The Grid, presented by Bose, knows that better than most.  In a career spanning more than 100 Grands Prix, Romain Grosjean has experienced the highs of reaching the podium several times and the lows of facing heavy criticism from his fellow...

The history of F1 is filled with iconic team owners; extraordinary characters who went above and beyond to build cars and go racing. But it’s fair to say that when they made Eddie Jordan, they broke the mould. The self-proclaimed ‘Irish chancer’ built his team up from nothing, staved off numerous attempts to close it down, ran some of the sport’s finest drivers (including giving a certain Michael...