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 his race for Haas in Azerbaijan felt different. He remembers moving from the UK to go racing in Italy...
Sep 24, 2024•47 min
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 went on to become a five-time DTM champion with Mercedes-Benz after his F1 career finished, also reve...
Sep 17, 2024•54 min
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 describes former teammate Nico Hulkenberg as a ‘career-killer’, when he stopped enjoying racing and th...
Sep 10, 2024•53 min
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 team, Red Bull Racing, still his priority or will he have to find opportunities elsewhere? Speaking to...
Sep 03, 2024•46 min
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 Stella (Michael’s performance engineer in 2004), Sabine Kehm (Michael’s media and PR consultant in 2004) a...
Aug 27, 2024•48 min
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 team. Also on the agenda, Charles talks about having Lewis Hamilton as his teammate in 2025, what h...
Aug 20, 2024•39 min
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
Aug 19, 2024•1 min
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 project will stop ahead of F1's new engine regulations in 2026. Bruno explains the thinking behind t...
Jul 30, 2024•36 min
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, Bruno has been supporting young drivers in their journey to the pinnacle of motorsport for two decades...
Jul 23, 2024•1 hr 6 min
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, with the competition getting closer, Adrian Newey leaving and Red Bull making their own engines for 2...
Jul 16, 2024•54 min
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 everything he tried to maximise his ability when competing against ‘exceptional’ drivers and why he...
Jul 09, 2024•59 min
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 Grand Prix, the McLaren driver explains why winning means so much more, and why racing for the lead feel...
Jul 02, 2024•46 min
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, and how the accident led to improved safety in the sport. The Brazilian also discusses why he chan...
Jun 25, 2024•1 hr 7 min
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 last few races. George Russell’s P3 and Lewis Hamilton’s P4 in Canada secured the team’s best result of...
Jun 18, 2024•44 min
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 aerodynamics. He tells Tom Clarkson how the new rules have been designed to create close, competitive ra...
Jun 11, 2024•47 min
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 the sport, and new stars have been given their chance to shine in F1 Academy. Maffei tells Tom Clarks...
Jun 04, 2024•36 min
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, Kontsas tells Tom Clarkson his secrets to training these extraordinary humans for the pinnacle of moto...
May 28, 2024•51 min
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 Prix. He wasn’t the same driver though, and at the end of 1995, his time in F1 was up. Speaking to Tom ...
May 21, 2024•57 min
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 serious injuries he suffered in just his ninth Grand Prix. Speaking to Tom Clarkson in the latest of F1 B...
May 14, 2024•39 min
McLaren are back on top of the Formula 1 podium, but their mission is far from accomplished yet. Since taking charge in 2018, CEO Zak Brown has overseen a huge transformation on and off the track and the team’s progress has accelerated astronomically over the last 12 months. Lando Norris’s long-awaited maiden Grand Prix victory in Miami is the culmination of an enormous amount of hard work to turn their fortunes around, after an awful start last season left them right at the back of the grid. So...
May 07, 2024•49 min
30 years since his death at Imola on 1st May 1994, Ayrton Senna’s legacy is still felt around the world. Brazil’s three-time Formula 1 World Champion continues to inspire today’s generation of racing drivers and fans. To Bruno Senna, Ayrton is still both his uncle and his hero. Speaking to Tom Clarkson, Bruno shares his childhood memories of Ayrton away from the track, the ‘racing relationship’ they built together, how his life changed after Imola 1994, and the pressure Ayrton’s success put on h...
Apr 30, 2024•1 hr 4 min
A multiple title winner at junior level and a point-scorer on his unexpected F1 debut in 2016, Stoffel Vandoorne seemed on track for a long and prosperous career in Formula 1. But his big break at McLaren in 2017 arrived during one of the team’s most challenging periods. They finished second-last in the standings during Vandoorne’s first season, endured a difficult transition from Honda to Renault engines the following year, and there was huge organisational change at the top as Zak Brown came i...
Apr 23, 2024•48 min
20 years since his infatuation with Formula 1 began at China’s first race in 2004, Zhou Guanyu will race in front of his home fans for the first time as an F1 driver at the Chinese Grand Prix. Zhou tells Tom Clarkson what racing in Shanghai will look like through his eyes; from his helmet design and sold-out grandstand, to the reaction he’s expecting on his first lap of the track and what it would mean to score his first points of the season in the city he was born in. The Sauber driver also tal...
Apr 16, 2024•51 min
Fernando Alonso is 'here to stay' in Formula 1 with Aston Martin. What made the double World Champion decide to continue racing with his current team? In a special episode of the F1 Nation podcast, Aston Martin Ambassador Pedro de la Rosa and 1996 World Champion Damon Hill join Tom Clarkson to analyse Alonso's announcement, what it means for him, the team and the rest of the drivers searching for a 2025 race seat. Get in touch If you have a question for our F1 Nation experts, then send an email ...
Apr 12, 2024•26 min
Seven-time Grand Prix winner Juan Pablo Montoya joins Tom Clarkson for the first episode of F1 Beyond The Grid’s LEGENDS episodes. Going into the final two races of 2003, Montoya was only three points behind World Championship leader Michael Schumacher in a three-way fight for the title, with Kimi Raikkonen just behind them. But by the season finale, the Colombian was out of contention – so where did it all go wrong? Juan Pablo reflects on the highs of his wins at Monaco and Hockenheim that year...
Apr 09, 2024•43 min
The journey that has taken Ayao Komatsu from a teenager in Tokyo, dreaming of working in Formula 1, to the new Haas Team Principal is a gripping tale. Featuring fascinating anecdotes of his father’s experiences as a political prisoner, the challenges Ayao faced when he left Japan for England, and how he engineered his way through university to a career in F1, this is a compelling conversation between Komatsu and Tom Clarkson. Ayao talks about his relationship with his family, the influence Japan...
Apr 02, 2024•1 hr 3 min
He’s a World Championship-winning engineer with nearly 50 years in Formula 1, but Pat Symonds’ focus is new innovation and F1’s next generation. Pat scored title wins with Michael Schumacher in the 90s and Fernando Alonso in the 2000s. In the 80s, he helped a rookie Ayrton Senna get up to speed and take a stunning Monaco podium. Today, as Formula 1’s Chief Technical Officer, his task is producing spectacular racing - now and for years to come. Pat tells Tom Clarkson about his past successes, his...
Mar 27, 2024•1 hr 6 min
A Formula 1 winner in his first season, Oscar Piastri has his sights set on more success. At McLaren, alongside Lando Norris, guided by Team Principal Andrea Stella and manager Mark Webber, he’s right where he needs to be. Speaking to Tom Clarkson, Oscar reflects on his rookie year in F1, his Sprint victory ahead of Max Verstappen, on-track clashes and off-track discussions with Lewis Hamilton, and why at his home race in Melbourne he’ll be fuelled by his Grandma’s baking as well as the Australi...
Mar 20, 2024•45 min
What does 2025 hold for Alex Albon? How has golf changed his approach to Formula 1? Would he like more competition from his teammate? The Williams driver answers all those questions and more in his first proper catch-up with Tom Clarkson on F1 Beyond The Grid since 2022. Albon explains the mindset of being a number two driver at Red Bull Racing compared to being team leader at Williams, how his fitness varies so much throughout the season, and why self-care is the most important part of his prep...
Mar 13, 2024•41 min
Brand new name. Brand new leader. Brand new ambition? As RB enter the next era of their Formula 1 venture, is their purpose still to develop young drivers for Red Bull Racing? Outlining his vision to Tom Clarkson, new Team Principal Laurent Mekies talks about making RB more competitive in all areas, transforming the team’s culture and mentality, and how the combination of Daniel Ricciardo and Yuki Tsunoda will drive them further up the grid. Mekies also discusses how much the team has changed si...
Mar 06, 2024•1 hr 5 min
