F1: Beyond The Grid

When Claire Williams sold the Williams F1 team at the end of 2020, a very special 43-year association between the Williams family and Formula 1 came to an end.

Founded by Claire’s father, Sir Frank Williams, in 1977, the team have won 16 World Championships – a feat only bettered by Ferrari and McLaren. 

Claire rose through the ranks – starting as press officer in 2002 and eventually becoming Deputy Team Principal in 2013. Over eight seasons, she led the team to 15 podiums and two P3 finishes in the Constructor Standings before she and her family left the sport.

Speaking to Tom Cla...

As the new Team Principal of Sauber, Jonathan Wheatley is taking on one of the most exciting projects in Formula 1. 

With Benetton, Renault and Red Bull Racing, Jonathan has won 19 World Championships over the last 34 years. Now, after nearly two decades as Red Bull’s Sporting Director, he’s in a very different role with a very different team. And not just any team, because, in 2026, Sauber will become Audi.

Speaking to Tom Clarkson, Jonathan explains why he’s chosen to make such a big change in his career, how his experience of winning at the very hi...

Tom Clarkson’s guest on this week’s F1 Beyond The Grid is McLaren’s Chief Operating Officer, Piers Thynne, who has been with the team since 2008.

He oversees everything that happens at the team's base, the McLaren Technology Centre, so he’s played a crucial role in their current success.

How have McLaren transformed into World Champions after finishing second to last in 2017? Why is their philosophy of getting ‘comfortable with being uncomfortable’ so productive? What impact have Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri had on the whole team? And how are McLaren preparing for new regulations...

After five years with Alpine, Esteban Ocon is embarking on a new adventure with Haas in 2025.
What challenges has he faced while settling into his new team? How is he getting on with new race engineer Laura Mueller? What are the strengths and weaknesses of their car?
Esteban tells Tom Clarkson how he’s adapting to his new surroundings and how Haas have made such a miraculous recovery from a nightmare opening weekend in Australia.
He also talks about reuniting with Team Principal Ayao Komatsu, whom he raced alongside many years ago, his passion for cars and re...

Tom Clarkson reveals which Formula 1 star will be joining him on this week’s episode of F1 Beyond The Grid. 

Listen to the full show on Wednesday 16th March or you can watch their chat on the official F1 YouTube channel.

Ferrari ambassador and former test driver Marc Gene has been with the team since 2004.
During that time, Marc has had the privilege of working alongside five World Champions: Michael Schumacher, Kimi Raikkonen, Fernando Alonso, Sebastian Vettel and now, Lewis Hamilton.
Do they all have a common trait that makes them so successful? What’s the difference between one-time and multiple World Champions? Speaking to Tom Clarkson, Marc shares stories from his years working with each of those legends.
The Spaniard also talks about his own racing career in F1, which started with Minardi in 1999, why he loved te...

Chosen by Red Bull aged 15. Suddenly launched into his first Grand Prix as the youngest driver ever, having never driven a Formula 1 car before. Racing for the Red Bull junior team, Jaime Alguersuari was expected to win. He was dropped when he didn’t.
Speaking to Tom Clarkson, Jaime looks back at his rapid rise to Formula 1. From his surprise debut in 2009, the demands of the Red Bull junior programme, and racing Michael Schumacher, to turning down the chance to drive a race-winning car days before losing his place in the sport. Now a DJ and producer, Jaime tells To...

‘I wish I could fast forward’, says Pierre Gasly. Like all F1 drivers, Pierre is used to things happening quickly. He thinks Alpine will be fighting further forwards in a matter of months, and is impatient to get there. He knows how winning feels. He believes he can do it again.
Gasly tells Tom Clarkson about the faith he has in Alpine and its leaders, Team Principal Oliver Oakes and Executive Advisor Flavio Briatore. His aim is to win a race this season, but he’s looking further ahead to when F1’s new rules may shake up the sport in...

Aston Martin’s Team Principal knows what it takes to win in Formula 1. Andy Cowell leads a team which now includes Adrian Newey. They have the newest factory in the sport. Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll are in the driving seat. Owner Lawrence Stroll is funding the team’s future. When will these ingredients bring trophies?
Andy tells Tom Clarkson that Aston Martin are in ‘the building phase’ against ‘mighty’ opponents, but he’s confident they will overtake their rivals. He compares his current job to his time winning championships with Mercedes, and explains why F1’s new era of racing with s...

With 11 Grands Prix under his belt, Liam Lawson is technically no longer a rookie – but he is about to embark on his first full Formula 1 season in 2025 and race at many tracks he’s never driven before.
So how does the New Zealander feel about this next step with Red Bull Racing? Speaking to Tom Clarkson at the team’s UK headquarters in Milton Keynes, Liam answers all the big questions ahead of a potentially career-defining year.
What did Liam do to persuade Team Principal Christian Horner and Red Bull Motorsport Advisor Helmut Marko that he was the right...

First up in 2025: Liam Lawson. Listen to a preview of the Red Bull racer's conversation with Tom Clarkson here.

Don't miss the full episode on Wednesday 12th March.

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Adrian Newey began his new job at Aston Martin this week. Is he the man who will make Aston Martin World Champions? How does Adrian’s arrival change Fernando Alonso’s future plans? How has team owner Lawrence Stroll transformed Aston since he took over in 2018? And what is it really like for Lance Stroll to have his dad as his boss?
Tom Clarkson has been listening through his interviews with Lawrence, Adrian, Fernando and Lance from recent years here on F1 Beyond The Grid to find some answers to the key questions facing Aston Martin ahead of the new...

The arrival of four-time Grand Prix winner Carlos Sainz from Ferrari marks the start of an intriguing new adventure for Williams in 2025.
Is Carlos the man to drive Williams back to their glory days? How will Alex Albon stack up against a much more experienced teammate? And can Williams move further up the grid this season or is the introduction of new regulations in 2026 the priority for Team Principal James Vowles?
Tom Clarkson has been listening back to his interviews with James, Carlos and Alex from 2024 to try and find the answers to those questions ahead of the...

2024 saw McLaren become Constructor World Champions for the first time since 1998.
Will they defend their title in 2025? And will Lando Norris or Oscar Piastri become the team’s first Drivers’ World Champion since Lewis Hamilton in 2008?
Tom Clarkson has been digging through the F1 Beyond The Grid archives to find out how McLaren have transformed into the fastest team in Formula 1 and whether their success will continue in the new season.
Providing in-depth insight into the winning culture they’ve created at McLaren, you’ll hear interviews from Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, plus McLaren CEO Zak Brown an...

Lewis Hamilton is getting ready for his first season with Ferrari in 2025. He’s won seven World Championships and 105 races, but some of Formula 1’s most successful drivers have joined Ferrari in the past and missed out on the ultimate prize.
So what lessons can Lewis take from those who came before him? How difficult is it to win titles with the Scuderia? And why is driving for Ferrari so different to any other team in the sport?
Digging through the F1 Beyond The Grid archives, Tom Clarkson has found interviews with Sebastian Vettel, Alain Prost, Nigel Mansell and...

What really happens on the grid before a race? How do Formula 1 teams scout their future stars? How are drivers coached to go faster?  In 2024, F1 Explains answered these questions and many more sent in by F1 fans from all over the world.

F1 Explains takes your questions and finds the experts to answer them. In this special episode, presenters Christian Hewgill and Katie Osborne have picked the most fascinating moments from the podcast's second season:

Liam Lawson on how drivers find the racing line Ollie Bearman reveals Ferrari's young driver scouting camps Oscar Piastri on h...

A driver market for the ages, Verstappen at his very best, emotional race wins, new Constructor World Champions and the end of some iconic eras. The 2024 Formula 1 season was sensational.
On F1 Beyond The Grid, the stars of this dramatic year of racing have sat down with Tom Clarkson, revealing what it’s like being at the centre of the biggest stories of the season and sharing fascinating insight into what life is like as a Formula 1 driver, Team Principal, engineer, designer, and more. In this end-of year special, Tom picks his favourite moments from a long list of st...

Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes: their names are together forever in the Formula 1 record books. As the most successful team and driver partnership in the sport's history comes to an end, some of Lewis Hamilton's Mercedes colleagues tell Tom Clarkson their stories of working with him:
 
Toto Wolff – Team Principal, on how Lewis got stronger every year of their partnership

Andrew Shovlin – Trackside Engineering Director, who was on the pit wall for all of Lewis’ history-making races

Clare Robertson – Head of Communications. She first met Lewis when he was 15, and has worked with him since his days...

This episode is presented by Explora Journeys - redefining luxury ocean travel.

2024 has been a turbulent year for Carlos Sainz.

It started with a shock: Lewis Hamilton would be replacing him at Ferrari in 2025. Then he missed a race with appendicitis. But the year is ending with multiple wins and podiums to look back on, and an exciting new challenge to look forward to with Williams next season. 

Speaking to Tom Clarkson, Carlos talks about his feelings after finding out Hamilton was taking his seat, the pain he suffered after his operation and how h...

2024 has been a rollercoaster for this week’s guest on F1 Beyond The Grid. While the end of the season provides a chance for reflection, he’s also looking forward to an exciting new venture in 2025.  
 
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 4th December.

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Aston Martin Sporting Director Andy Stevenson reached a huge milestone in Las Vegas, working at his 600th Grand Prix. It’s a sensational achievement made even more remarkable by the fact that all 600 races have been with the same team.
A driver winning with a broken leg, another going to jail halfway through the season, preparing a future seven-time World Champion for his debut… Andy has seen everything Formula 1 has to offer over the last 33 years in the paddock.
Sharing fascinating and surreal anecd...

This episode is brought to you by T-Mobile, official 5G partner of F1 Las Vegas Grand Prix

Why did Oliver Oakes become Alpine Team Principal? How does his background as a racing driver and team owner prepare him for this new challenge? And what are his priorities in 2025 and beyond?
Speaking to Tom Clarkson at the team’s headquarters in Enstone, Oakes answers all the key questions around Alpine’s future with him at the helm.
Oli discusses his mixed feelings after their double podium in Brazil, why Alpine have chosen Mercedes as their power unit supp...

He’s one of the most experienced drivers in F1 history, who won races for championship teams Ferrari and Brawn GP. 

During his long career, Rubens Barrichello had to cope with the loss of his legendary countryman, Ayrton Senna, and the challenge of carrying the hopes of Brazilian fans afterwards. At Ferrari, Rubens went up against a dominant Michael Schumacher, and while he never won a title, he proved he could match his teammate on his day. 

Speaking to Tom Clarkson, Rubens reflects on some of the highs and lows of his career, the long shadow cast...

Nephew of two-time Formula 1 World Champion Emerson and son of Brazilian F1 team owner Wilson, Christian Fittipaldi was destined to follow in his family’s footsteps and race in the pinnacle of motorsport.
Speaking to Tom Clarkson in his home city of Sao Paulo, Christian reflects on his three seasons on the grid with the Footwork and Minardi teams in the early 1990’s. He talks about what it was like growing up in such an iconic racing family and the pressure he experienced carrying the Fittipaldi name, how he recovered from two serious crashes at Magny Cours and Monza, and...

Despite being a hugely versatile racing driver, who competed in Formula 3000, IndyCar, Sports Cars and Touring Cars, Christian Danner was unable to showcase his full potential in Formula 1 in the mid-late 1980s.
During an era characterised by poor reliability and pre-qualifying, he either failed to start many of the races he entered, or he failed to finish them. But that certainly doesn’t mean he’s short of some fascinating tales from his time in the sport.
Speaking to Tom Clarkson, Christian remembers becoming the first F1 driver to be disqualified for dangerous driving and how Ayrton Senna leap...

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 the sport have prolonged his career.
Speaking to Tom Clarkson, Fernando reflects on the most poignant moments from an eventful 21 seasons on the grid - revealing...

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.

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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 career change and how does working in F1 compare to rowing?
Speaking to Tom Clarkson at McLaren’s headquarters, Stallard talks about his gruelling fitness regi...

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 departure and what he’s doing today. He explains why he feels he stayed at Haas too long, picks the driver he thinks is the best in the current field, the Team Principals who...

‘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 explains asking Logan Sargeant to stand aside so Alex Albon could race in Australia, replacing Sargeant mid-way through the season, bringing in Franco Colapinto and signing Sainz for 2025.

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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 claim for a permanent race seat?

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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, and looks forward to starting his first full F1...

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 reveals how he was nearly partly responsible for Mercedes pulling out of all mo...

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 the controversial way in which he found out he was being...

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 Tom Clarkson ahead of the Italian Grand Prix, Yuki expl...

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) and Ferrari Sporting Director Diego Ioverno (Ferrari’s gearbox engineer in 2004) for unique insi...

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 he’ll miss about Carlos Sainz, how ‘life-changing’ Leo the Dachsund is keeping him on his...

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 project will stop ahead of F1's new engine regulations in 2026. Bruno explains the thinking behind that plan, the possibility of Alpine becoming a Mercedes-powered customer team, and the alternative p...

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. He tells Tom Clarkson how he built the ladder to Formula 1, why Hamilton and Leclerc particularly stood out, and hi...