F1 Beyond The Grid

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

Change is on the horizon at Alpine, as boss Bruno Famin prepares to step down, and the Renault-owned team considers switching to another manufacturer's power units. Bruno tells Tom Clarkson why he is moving away from the F1 team to focus on operations at Renault's engine factory in Viry, just outside Paris. The factory has produced Renault F1 engines since the 1970s, but staff have been told this...

Lewis Hamilton, Charles Leclerc, Oscar Piastri and George Russell are just a handful of the Formula 1 stars born in Bruno Michel’s racing series. Multiple F1 World Champions and Grand Prix-winners have risen from Formula 2 and Formula 3, previously known as GP2 and GP3. From the very first GP2 champion, Nico Rosberg, to Lando Norris, Nico Hulkenberg, Pierre Gasly, Valtteri Bottas and many more, Br...

Paul Monaghan, Red Bull Racing’s chief engineer, has been with the team from the very beginning of their Formula 1 venture in 2005. He’s experienced the highs and lows of the team’s evolution from racing rookies into serial winners.  How does the their first era of dominance with Sebastian Vettel compare to their current success with Max Verstappen? What’s the secret to the Dutchman’s speed? And,...

What’s the difference between winning races and winning World Championships? David Coulthard enjoyed multiple Grand Prix wins and podiums, but titles were out of reach during his 15-year career in Formula 1. So why was he unable to achieve success that the likes of Ayrton Senna, Michael Schumacher, Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen have all experienced? Speaking to Tom Clarkson, Coulthard analyses...

This episode is brought to you by GetYourGuide – the app to discover and book unforgettable travel experiences. Choose from over 100,000 things to do in one app, including an exclusive tour of the McLaren Technology Centre. Discover, book and make memories this summer at GetYourGuide.co.uk Lando Norris’ first F1 victory has changed everything. Speaking to Tom Clarkson before the 2024 Austrian Gran...

Just 14 races into his debut Formula 1 season in 2001, Luciano Burti suffered a huge crash at the Belgian Grand Prix. He walked away but it proved to be his last action as an F1 driver. Speaking to Tom Clarkson in his home city of Sao Paolo, Burti reflects vividly on the crash; what he was thinking about as it was happening, the physical injuries he suffered, why he wasn’t able to return to racing...

From 2014 to 2021, Mercedes dominated Formula 1 with a record eight Constructor World Championships in a row. Since 2022 though, they have struggled to fully grasp the current ground effect cars and, as a result, have dramatically fallen down the pecking order, behind their rivals Red Bull, McLaren and Ferrari. Merc’s struggles continued at the start of 2024, but they have made progress in the las...

He’s an engineer who won Formula 1 World Championships with Michael Schumacher and Kimi Raikkonen. Now he’s working on the rules of the sport for 2026 and beyond. Nikolas Tombazis is the Director of Single Seaters for the FIA. He is overseeing the regulations for the 2026 season, when F1 cars will be lighter, smaller and sustainably fuelled, with greater battery power and revolutionary active aero...

As President and CEO of Liberty Media, Formula 1's parent company, Greg Maffei is at the very top of the sport. Together, he and F1 President and CEO Stefano Domenicali, are setting the strategy for the sport’s future.   Since Liberty Media took ownership of the Formula 1 in 2017, we’ve seen thrilling races from the Las Vegas Strip to Silverstone, new fans around the world have fallen in love with...

At the end of his glittering career, four-time World Champion Sebastian Vettel said he was in the ‘best shape possible’ thanks to his performance coach Antti Kontsas. So how do you physically and mentally prepare a Formula 1 driver for a season of racing around the world? With over 10 years of experience working in the paddock, coaching the likes of Sebastian Buemi, Jean Eric Vergne and Vettel, Ko...

30 years ago, Karl Wendlinger’s Formula 1 career was just beginning to rise after a strong start to 1994 with Sauber. But that all changed in first practice for the Monaco Grand Prix, when the Austrian lost control of his car as he approached the Nouvelle chicane and crashed into the barriers. After a long recovery to regain racing fitness, Wendlinger returned a year later at the Spanish Grand Pri...

In 1984, Martin Brundle and Ayrton Senna made their Formula 1 debuts. They had just fought each other in an epic battle for the 1983 British Formula 3 title. But while there was little to separate the duo in junior racing, their F1 careers panned out very differently. As Senna went on to achieve hero status as a triple World Champion, Brundle’s 12-year career was significantly shaped by very serio...