The Race F1 Podcast

F1 heads into its season-opener in Australia with the usual excitement tempered by trepidation about what impact the new regulations - and in particular the energy-starved power units - might have on the racing. So how will the on-track action play out this year, and will we really see chaos during qualifying and at race starts? And if the racing does fall flat, will panic set in? In our second an...

George Russell heads into the season-opening Australian Grand Prix as world championship favourite. But are he and Mercedes really up to the challenge, and will it be Lando Norris, Max Verstappen, Charles Leclerc or someone else who emerges as his main rival? In the first episode of our two-part F1 2026 season preview, Edd Straw is joined by Ben Anderson and Glenn Freeman to look at the drivers wh...

Max Verstappen has been incredibly critical of the direction F1 has taken with its 2026 rules - but does he have a point? Is F1 still F1? That's the key topic of conversation in the latest episode of Stay On Track, in which 1996 world champion Damon Hill and three-time grand prix winner Johnny Herbert look ahead to the season-opening race in Australia and contemplate what we can expect from the ra...

The Race F1 Tech Show returns, with Edd Straw and legendary former F1 technical director Gary Anderson discussing all the big tech talking points heading into 2026. Gary gives his assessment of each team heading into the new season, plus shares his thoughts on the new power units, deployment regimes, energy harvesting, the start sequence and more. He also answers questions from listeners on bargeb...

The combination of Fernando Alonso, Adrian Newey and works Honda engines was meant to be the stuff of dreams for Aston Martin, but in testing the combination looked in big trouble and facing an extremely tough start to 2026 at the very least. So has Alonso's last chance to win again in F1 already slipped away, and if so what does that mean for the 44-year-old's future? Edd Straw is joined by Scott...

Ferrari ended testing on top courtesy of a Charles Leclerc flyer at the end of the final day of running in Bahrain. But who is really the pace-setter heading to Melbourne, and how did Aston Martin somehow manage to have its worst day yet of a nightmare pre-season? Edd Straw is joined by Scott Mitchell-Malm and Samarth Kanal to answer those questions and sum up each team's start to 2026. Get your 7...

Ferrari was talk of the paddock on the penultimate day of pre-season testing in Bahrain with its 'upside-down' rear wing. So what’s that design about and is it legal? And just how strong is the Prancing Horse looking in terms of performance? Edd Straw is joined by Scott Mitchell-Malm, with special contributions from technical expert Gary Anderson, to answer those questions, and get into the other...

It was George Russell in the upgraded Mercedes on top on the first day of the final Bahrain pre-season test as the lap times continued to drop. But what impact could the looming compression ratio saga resolution have on it, and how did the experimental start procedure trialled at the end of the day play out? Edd Straw is joined by Scott Mitchell-Malm to review another gripping day of running, and...

We reveal every team’s top priority for the final three days of pre-season testing in Bahrain in the latest edition of The Race F1 Podcast. Scott Mitchell-Malm and Samarth Kanal join Edd Straw to work through the 11 teams and what we need to see from them to be sure they are in the best possible place for the start of the season.  We discuss the off-track challenge for Mercedes, McLaren’s gam...

People in F1 have long talked about finding ‘the unfair advantage’, but sometimes the line between clever thinking and outright cheating is not easy to see - as Damon Hill and Mark Hughes discuss on the latest episode of The Undercut. The engine compression saga that’s engulfed F1 ahead of the 2026 season is the latest scenario where a team looks to have found a loophole in the F1 regulations - bu...

The Mercedes pair of Kimi Antonelli and George Russell ended up with a one-two on the timesheets at the end of the Bahrain test. But with the top teams falling over themselves to declare each other the frontrunner, who is really on top at the conclusion of three days of running? And how seriously should F1 take Andrea Stella’s safety warnings? Edd Straw is joined by Scott Mitchell-Malm and Jon Nob...

Day 2 of F1 testing in Bahrain was dominated by Max Verstappen’s comments about the 2026 regulations - but what’s prompted him to call them “not very Formula 1-like", "anti-racing" and more like "Formula E on steroids”? Dutch F1 commentator Nelson Valkenburg, of Viaplay Netherlands, joins Edd Straw to give his verdict on Max’s comments, and talk through all the rest of the big stories from th...

Join Edd Straw and Jon Noble as they discuss all of the big stories from Day 1 of F1 testing in Bahrain, including Mercedes boss Toto Wolff’s assertion that the Red Bull is the benchmark car. Edd and Jon also provide some trackside observations of watching the new cars in action, and reflect on Lewis Hamilton’s comments about the new regulations. They also provide an update on every team’s pr...

It’s day 1 of the Bahrain test, and as a special bonus, we’re making our first In-Car Insights podcast of the week - a podcast series usually only available to The Race Members' Club - free for everyone to listen to. Our In-Car Insights series is a hugely popular staple of our grand prix weekend output for members, and features the likes of Edd Straw, Scott Mitchell-Malm and Jon Noble discussing t...

F1 launch season has reached its conclusion with Aston Martin and McLaren holding online launches and Cadillac revealing its livery in the fourth quarter of the Super Bowl. Jon Noble was in Saudi Arabia for the Aston launch, and he tells Edd Straw what he learned and why some of the language coming from the likes of Adrian Newey and Fernando Alonso suggests the team won't be at the sharp end of th...

With F1 pre-season in full swing, Damon and Johnny return with another episode of Stay On Track, and this time they’re discussing car launches and testing from a driver’s perspective. They share some weird and wacky stories from their own careers, including the time Damon was almost sacked during a car launch and the time Johnny inadvertently found himself part of a space opera! They also discuss...

F1 has all-new cars in 2026, but how will they change the racing we see on track? That's the big question tackled in this episode of The Race F1 Podcast, as Edd Straw, Scott-Mitchell-Malm and Dutch F1 commentator Nelson Valkenburg, of Viaplay Netherlands, attempt to unpick what we've learned from the limited driver and team feedback we've heard so far. How big is the driving challenge, and ha...

Now that almost all of the 2026 cars have broken cover, we take an in-depth look at the technical and design trends that have stood out so far in the latest edition of The Race F1 Podcast. Ex-F1 technical director Gary Anderson and Mark Hughes join Edd Straw to work through the key areas and explain the various design choices taken by teams.  We take a close look at the approach to activ...

Aston Martin dominated the headlines in the final part of the Barcelona shakedown test when its aggressive Adrian Newey creation broke cover, while Lewis Hamilton ended the five days of running with the fastest time for Ferrari. But does the Aston Martin’s speed match its looks, and is Mercedes really the team in front? On this episode of The Race F1 Podcast, Edd Straw is joined by Jon Noble and S...

On the latest episode of The Race F1 podcast, Edd Straw - fresh off a plane from Barcelona - is joined by Scott Mitchell-Malm to discuss the latest from F1’s private shakedown test in Spain.  Top of the agenda is Mercedes’ ominous form, but there’s also chat about McLaren’s first run with its new car, Red Bull’s test plans after Isack Hadjar’s unfortunate crash on Tuesday, and updates on ever...

F1’s first group test of 2026 got underway in Barcelona on Monday in a strange locked down environment, completely free of media and fans. The Race’s Edd Straw and Jon Noble were amongst a handful of hardy journalists who spent the day trying to observe from a distance while evading over zealous security guards, and on this episode of The Race F1 Podcast they report back on what they found. They d...

In one of the most unique launches of 2026, Alpine chose to kick-start its 2026 campaign with a livery unveiling aboard a cruise ship. The Race F1 Podcast's Edd Straw and Jon Noble were both on hand to witness events first-hand and speak to the key players, and they report back on what they found in the latest episode. Amongst the topics discussed are whether Alpine is poised to benefit from its s...

The latest episode of The Race F1 Podcast discusses the fortunes of two teams with huge championship pedigree who have been starved of title success in recent times: Ferrari and Williams. Ferrari unveiled the SF-26 on Friday, before Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc gave the new car a brief shakedown at the Italian team's Fiorano test track. Edd Straw is joined by Scott Mitchell-Malm to discuss t...

On Thursday it was the turn of Mercedes to release the first images of its 2026 F1 car, the W17. Mercedes has long been tipped as a favourite, largely because of paddock rumours that its development for the new engine regulations was going extremely well. But what more can we glean now we've seen imagery of the car? From an airport bar, Edd Straw is joined by Jon Noble to discuss that topic, befor...

It was another busy day in F1 on Tuesday as Audi had its season launch in Germany and Honda held its own event in Japan. Linking them was a common message - that of managed expectations for 2026, as Edd Straw, Valentin Khorounzhiy and Scott Mitchell-Malm discuss on this podcast. First, we join Val in the party atmosphere of the Audi launch in Berlin. After speaking to various members of the team,...