Pondering Papaya: A McLaren F1 podcast

It’s a bumper show today as not only do we preview the Miami Grand Prix but we also dive into what on Earth has happened at McLaren’s IndyCar team. For the F1 matters, Sam was joined by journalists Jasmine Hughes and Cameron Anderson-Jones while Archie O’Reilly is on hand to provide the IndyCar expertise. You can follow them all here: Jasmine is @jhughesfe Cameron is @CamAnderson_21 Archie is @Arc...

From May 2017 to July 2020, Henry Chilcott was McLaren's Group Marketing Director and during his tenure, Henry helped to make the Woking side one of the most marketable teams on the F1 grid. Now working at Formula E, Henry took time out of his busy schedule to chat with us all things McLaren and what makes Zak Brown so good and what he does. Have a question for the show? Email inbox@ponderingp...

After a pessimistic preview, Lando Norris and McLaren defied expectations to end the Chinese GP on the podium. To break it all down, Sam was joined by F1 content creator FP1Will and FormulaNerds Senior Editor James Phillips. Have a question for the show? Email inbox@ponderingpapaya.com . You can also reach us on socials @ponderingpapaya on all the major platforms.

F1 returns to China this weekend for the first time in five years but in recent times, it hasn’t been the happiest of hurting grounds for McLaren. With Andrea Stella describing it as “the track that worries me the most from a competitiveness point of view” should McLaren fans be worried? To answer that, Sam is joined by pod regular Sarah McKenzie (@macktweets_) as well as McLaren Fan TV’s Mahad (@...

Did McLaren let that slip through their fingers? After a strong quali, the team came away wondering what could have been with Lando Norris ending the day fifith and Oscar Piastri in eioghth. To discuss the race in Suzuka, Sam was joined by F1 journalists Ed Spencer (@EdSpencer99) and Yasmin Janahi (@yasmin_janahi03). Have a question for the show? Email inbox@ponderingpapaya.com . You can also reac...

Suzuka, it's one of those tracks that nearly everyone is head over heels with and one that McLaren certainly has a special history at. With a double podium last year, can the team repeat the trick this time round? To answer that, Sam enlisted the help of FormulaNerds journalist Abby Bathurst and F1 content creator LawVS to discuss the team heading into this weekend's race. There is also a...

Well who saw that coming? David Sanchez has left his technical role at McLaren after just three months having waited three times that to join. Sam brings you all the news before Adam Burns of the DNF1 podcast joins to dissect the departure. Have a question for the show? Email inbox@ponderingpapaya.com . You can also reach us on socials @ponderingpapaya on all the major platforms.

First podium of the year! An excellent race Down Under is reviewed by Sam and guests F1 journalist Rory Mitchell and host of the DNF1 podcast Adam Burns. You can find Rory on Twitter at @RoryMitchell and Adam's podcast is @dnf1_official. Have a question for the show? Email inbox@ponderingpapaya.com . You can also reach us on socials @ponderingpapaya on all the major platforms.

Three Men at Work as the Pondering Papaya podcast returns to preview the #F1 #AustralianGP. Hometown hero #OscarPiastri was pessimistic about a podium while #LandoNorris’ new facial hair shows he means business. Sam is joined by the Mirror’s F1 correspondent Dan Moxon and the Grid Gab’s Paul Landry to preview the action in Melbourne. ⁠You can find Dan’s work here⁠ and Paul can ⁠be found here⁠ . Ha...

We're back for a race review of the #SaudiArabianGP where Oscar Piastri shined to finish fourth. Joining Sam to discuss the race is F1 content creator Sarah McKenzie-Foley and F1 journalist Alex Harrington. ⁠You can find Sarah's work here ⁠ and Alex is on social media here. Have a question for the show? Email inbox@ponderingpapaya.com . You can also reach us on socials @ponderingpapaya on...

As #F1 returns for the #SaudiArabianGP, Sam was joined by DNF1 host Adam Burns and FormulaNerds writer James Phillips to preview the action. Away from #McLaren, the team also discuss the mess going on at Alpine and how the FIA president could have burnt his last bridge. Have a question for the show? Email inbox@ponderingpapaya.com . You can also reach us on socials @ponderingpapaya on all the majo...

In a special episode of the Pondering Papaya podcast, we heard from McLaren’s F1 Academy driver Bianca Bustamante. Bianca speaks about her first few months at McLaren and also how her pre-season has gone ahead of the second ever F1 Academy campaign. Have a question for the show? Email inbox@ponderingpapaya.com . You can also reach us on socials @ponderingpapaya on all the major platforms.

The first Formula 1 race of the 2024 season is in the books and did #McLaren do better than we all expected? To answer that question, Sam was joined by the Independent’s #F1 correspondent Kieran Jackson (@kieranrjackson) and FormulaNerds editor Samuel Coop (@SamuelTCoop) to discuss the race and what this could mean for the season ahead. Have a question for the show? Email inbox@ponderingpapaya.com...

Pre-season for the #F1 2024 season is in the books but it was not all smooth sailing for #McLaren. Sam is joined by F1 content creators Sarah McKenzie and LastLapLucy to pick the bones of McLaren's running as well as ponder what the season has in store for Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri. You can find Sarah's work here and Lucy can be found @LastLapLucy on social media. Have a question for...

McLaren are the kings of the pit stop and currently hold the world record for the quickest stop in #F1 history. To find out how they achieved the 1.8-second stop, Sam spoke to Pit Stop Performance Lead Sergio Stelitano on what he trained the crew to do and why he thinks the record can still be beaten. Have a question for the show? Email ⁠⁠⁠inbox@ponderingpapaya.com⁠⁠⁠ . You can also reach us on so...

Sam is joined by F1 content creator and producer extraordinaire Matt Amys and F1 journalist Samuel Coop as McLaren lift the covers on the MCL38. The trio discuss the rather muted launch and predict where McLaren will end the season in the Constructors' Championship. You can follow Matt at @mattamys or via his YouTube channel and Sam's work can be found here or on Twitter at @SamuelTCoop. H...

In a special episode of the Pondering Papaya podcast, Sam caught up with Josh Roles who from 2015 to 2018 worked at McLaren. Starting at the Royal Navy, Josh moved to work on McLaren's GT cars before joining the racing team in 2017. He later became one of Fernando Alonso's number two mechanics and explains what the Spaniard was like to work with as well as revealing what life at the MTC wa...

Joining Sam on the podcast today is the Mirror’s F1 Correspondent Dan Moxon, Formula Nerds’ Abby Bathurst and YouTuber LawVS as they kicked off the Pondering Papaya podcast. The team discussed Lando Norris’ new deal, what to expect from Oscar Piastri in 2024, the many hirings within the MTC and did someone say Lewis Hamilton to Ferrari? You can find Dan at @dmoxon_ on Twitter. Abby is at @AbbyBath...

Welcome to a brand new podcast focusing on everything McLaren.