Vegas, Baby! How Las Vegas evolved from gambling mecca to sports town Liberty Media is spending half a billion dollars to make the Las Vegas Grand Prix the “event of the year” in a city known for over-the-top programming. Along with the gambling and the all-star residencies, Vegas just added NFL, NHL and WNBA teams and recently added the Oakland A’s to that roster. This episode of Ready for the Big Time: F1 explores the logistics behind this endeavor, revisits the last time Sin City hosted a GP,...
Nov 16, 2023•29 min•Season 2Ep. 5
Earlier this year, Oracle Red Bull Racing and Scuderia AlphaTauri announced a powerplant partnership with Ford Performance, starting in 2026. Meanwhile, Andretti Global is teaming with GM/Cadillac to field an 11th F1 team. This episode of Ready for the Big Time: F1 will explore Ford’s rich history in the sport, what drove Ford’s support away, and why a return is so exciting. Then we’ll look at why Cadillac’s entry could be the final stroke that sheds their frumpy reputation.Host Scott Speed disc...
Nov 09, 2023•43 min•Season 2Ep. 4
"I was always aware that racing could be mixed. If I was gonna compete, it was going to be competing against men. And because I got into it so young, I was so oblivious to being one of so few females in the sport." —Jamie Chadwick, Indy NXT racerThis episode of Ready for the Big Time: F1 chronicles the history of female F1 drivers, from the pioneers of the 1950s to the roadblocks to progress in the ensuing decades and the rise and fall of the W-Series to the recently launched F1 Academy taking u...
Nov 02, 2023•38 min•Season 2Ep. 3
Young American women are among the biggest drivers of F1’s current popularity boom, and their wide-eyed enthusiasm for the sport is forcing the hidebound male gatekeeper fans of the sport to get with the times. In this episode of Ready for the Big Time: F1, we’ll examine the communities that these young women have formed around F1 and how it’s unlike anything this sport, or rival men’s pro leagues, have ever seen. This episode is hosted by Scott Speed and co-host Toni Cowan-Brown, aka @F1Toni, w...
Oct 26, 2023•45 min•Season 2Ep. 2
Just in time for the United States Grand Prix in Austin, season 2 of Ready for the Big Time: F1 opens with an episode recorded at the track, with arguably the most popular figure in Formula 1, whether he’s behind the wheel or not. F1 journalist Justin Hynes speaks with Daniel Ricciardo on the growing popularity of F1 in the US, why he loves the Austin track so much, and waxes poetic about his love for NASCAR (and Texas BBQ).
Oct 19, 2023•28 min•Season 2Ep. 1
The inaugural season explored what it would take for Formula One to make the big time in the United States. Now, with an American driver on the grid, an American team and three US GPs, F1 fever has arrived in the US, and in the process, the sport has embraced some distinctly American traits. This season of Ready for the Big Time: Formula 1, unpacks the Americanization of F1. Host Scott Speed, and co-hosts F1 Toni and Andrew Lawrence, will explore the splashy plans for the Las Vegas GP and Libert...
Oct 12, 2023•3 min•Season 2Ep. 1
For the season finale of Ready for the Big Time: F1, host Andrew Lawrence considers the road ahead—the future of Formula 1. No, he’s not talking about the engineering or technology of the sport, but rather, the actual composition of the sport—the people who will not only be watching the sport in the years ahead but participating as well. To help us across the finish line, Andrew speaks with the only American driver in the W-Series driver, Chloe Chambers, essentially an F1 sister series for women...
Aug 09, 2022•32 min
We're still stuck on this whole American F1 driver drought thing. This episode explores the era after the Red Bull Driver Search and Scott Speed’s historic and all-too-brief time driving in F1 during the early aughts. Host Andrew Lawrence speaks with racer Alexander Rossi, Red Bull American Driver Search finalist and current IndyCar driver, and Jak Crawford, a Formula 3 driver on the Red Bull Junior Team.
Jul 26, 2022•35 min
What if there was a reality show that sparked US interest in F1? Two decades before Drive to Survive dominated American F1 attention spans, Red Bull engineered a search to find the next American F1 driver, and along with it, a scrapped reality TV show. Host, Andrew Lawrence, speaks with racer Scott Speed, the winner of the Red Bull Driver Search, and Maria Jannace, the brains behind the program.
Jul 12, 2022•42 min
Porpoising might be F1’s reining buzzword for 2022, but how did a water animal make it into motorsport? In this episode, host, Andrew Lawrence, breaks down the technology behind F1, from aerodynamics to fitness. The guests for this episode come right out of the garage and include Jody Egginton, Scuderia AlphaTauri’s technical director and Pyry Salmela, performance coach for AlphaTauri driver, Pierre Gasly. This episode also welcomes back Mario Andretti and F1 reporter, Hazel Southwell.
Jun 28, 2022•41 min
There’s no doubt that Formula 1’s popularity is rising in the United States. Much of that awareness is credited to the wildly popular Netflix reality show, Drive to Survive. Host Andrew Lawrence speaks with the executive producer of Drive to Survive, James Gay-Rees of Box to Box Films, F1 journalist Jennie Gow and writer Amanda Mull of The Atlantic.
Jun 14, 2022•42 min
In this very special episode, the Red Bulletin team went to Miami for the premiere Grand Prix in Magic City. Host Andrew Lawrence speaks with two Red Bull athletes: one is NBA shooting coach Chris “Lethal Shooter” Matthews and the other is racing OG and former F1 driver, Scott Speed. Here they discuss the rising fandom in the US, the physical intensity of the sport, and the surprising parallels between F1 and the NBA.
May 31, 2022•34 min
The second episode of the Ready for the Big Time podcast is a Formula One CliffsNotes of sorts. Host Andrew Lawrence dives into F1's surprising American origins, the rules of the road and cuts to the real chase: the game within the game. Featured guests include motorsports writers Jordan Bianchi (The Athletic) and Hazel Southwell (The Drive).
May 17, 2022•31 min
For the pilot episode of Ready for the Big Time: Formula 1, we checked in with America’s last F1 superstar, Mario Andretti, who shared his seemingly improbable story of success, from a refugee longshot to becoming the biggest name in American motorsports.
May 03, 2022•30 min
What’s it going to take for F1 to make the big time in the US? In a new podcast by The Red Bulletin, host Drew Lawrence (Sports Illustrated, Car & Driver) explores the history, people, technology, and fandom that has catapulted what was once considered a niche showcase in America to a must-see event.
Apr 19, 2022•2 min
