Steve Nichols: engineering domination with McLaren
Creator of an iconic F1 car, with an inside view of a ferocious racing rivalry: Steve Nichols has witnessed some extraordinary things. The American engineer designed the McLaren MP4/4, the car which stormed to 15 wins in 16 races in 1988. He tells Tom Clarkson the story of the MP4/4’s creation and what made it so fast. Working closely with Ayrton Senna as his race engineer, Steve felt the tensi...
1hr 31m Apr 20, 2022
1hr 31m
Kevin Magnussen: a no-fear F1 comeback with Haas
A year out of F1 changed Kevin Magnussen’s world. He became a father, he moved back to his native Denmark with his family and he tasted US sportscars and the Le Mans 24 hours. When the chance to return to F1 with Haas suddenly came along, KMag said yes immediately. No fear. No doubt that it’s where he belongs. Kevin tells Tom Clarkson how it felt to lose his place in F1, why his second stint in...
48m Apr 13, 2022
48m
A message from Tom’s next guest…
Don’t miss this on Wednesday 13th of April! Follow F1 Beyond The Grid to get our next episode first
1m Apr 11, 2022
1m
Nigel Mansell: 1992 World Champion, through the pain
‘I risked a lot more than people know’. In 1992, Nigel Mansell – a three-time runner-up – finally achieved his lifelong ambition. To win the Formula 1 World Championship, he fought through physical injury and psychological challenges. In this 30th anniversary special episode, Nigel tells Tom Clarkson the story of his championship winning year. He relives his dominant race victories, a Monaco ba...
1hr 2m Apr 06, 2022
1hr 2m
Susie Wolff: racer, role model, risk-taker
From the age of 8, Susie Wolff dreamed of making it in motorsport. Formula 1 was her goal. In 2014 she got her chance – driving for Williams in Free Practice at the British Grand Prix, becoming the first woman to drive in an official F1 session for more than two decades. She tells Tom Clarkson how she earned her F1 opportunity through making life-changing decisions and dedication to her dream. ...
58m Mar 30, 2022
58m
Alpine tech boss Pat Fry: 35 years at the top of F1
Name a top F1 team or driver – Pat Fry is probably a big part of their success. He’s spent 35 years winning with Benetton, McLaren, Ferrari and Alpine, racing with world champion drivers Ayrton Senna, Mika Hakkinen, Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso. In that time he’s seen F1 change massively, and played a big role in developing game-changing racing technology. Pat tells Tom Clarkson about the...
52m Mar 23, 2022
52m
Carlos Sainz: ready to win with Ferrari
Will 2022 be a life-changing year for Carlos Sainz? He sits in a Ferrari which looked fast and reliable in pre-season testing. He’s proved he has what it takes to win in Formula 1. Can he make that final step to top of the podium? As Carlos tells Tom Clarkson, he still looks back with frustration on races he feels he could have won. You’ll hear how his seasons at McLaren shaped Carlos into the ...
44m Mar 16, 2022
44m
TEASER: First up on F1 Beyond The Grid Season 5…
Season 5 of F1 Beyond The Grid launches on Wednesday 16th March, but who’s our first guest? Tom Clarkson has the answer and an exclusive preview…
2m Mar 14, 2022
2m
REVISITED: Martin Brundle on the best F1 cars of each decade
Season 5 of F1: Beyond The Grid starts with a brand-new episode on Wednesday 16th March. With just days to go before we see the new 2022 cars go wheel to wheel, we revisit an episode from 2020 when Martin Brundle joined Tom to discuss the best F1 cars he’s ever driven. The Briton doesn’t just boast 158 race starts and nine podiums in F1 – he’s also one of the only people on the planet to have ...
1hr 6m Mar 09, 2022
1hr 6m
BONUS: F1 Nation's Barcelona Breakdown
F1 is back and so is F1 Nation! Tom Clarkson, Damon Hill and Natalie Pinkham chat about the news, views and pre-season clues from three days of running in Barcelona. Which teams have made strong starts, and which still have work to do? Plus, rumours of ‘brand new cars’ being prepared for the Bahrain test, exciting early signs for close wheel-to-wheel racing in 2022, and expert insight on the ne...
50m Mar 02, 2022
50m
REVISITED: Alain Prost on showdowns and phone calls with Senna
Season 5 of F1 Beyond The Grid starts with a brand-new episode on Wednesday 16th March.   Alain Prost is a four-time Formula 1 World Champion, star of one of the sport’s most thrilling eras, and Ayrton Senna’s great rival. In this 2018 interview from the Beyond The Grid archive, Alain tells Tom Clarkson the story of his rise to the top of the sport, the championships he missed out on, the tit...
52m Mar 02, 2022
52m
REVISITED: Toto Wolff on F1 rivalries and records
Season 5 of F1 Beyond The Grid starts with a brand-new episode on Wednesday 16th March.   Before another year of in-depth conversations with Formula 1’s biggest stars, we’re revisiting some of our favourite episodes from the past four seasons.   In October 2020, Mercedes Team Principal Toto Wolff told Tom Clarkson about his love of competition, what breaking records means to him, the challe...
40m Feb 23, 2022
40m
REVISITED: Lando Norris, before his podiums
Season 5 of F1 Beyond The Grid starts with a brand new episode on Wednesday 16th March.   Before another year of in-depth conversations with F1’s biggest stars, we’re revisiting some of our favourite episodes from the past four seasons.   When Lando Norris chatted to Tom Clarkson in March 2020, he was just about to start his second F1 season. He’d driven brilliantly in his rookie year, but ...
1hr 3m Feb 16, 2022
1hr 3m
Leclerc, Alonso, Ricciardo + more in The Best of 2021
2021 gave us amazing action on the racetrack, and captivating conversations on F1 Beyond The Grid. For this special episode, Tom Clarkson has picked his favourite moments from the past year. Red Bull’s Christian Horner explained how Max Verstappen evolved from teenage sensation to World Champion, Charles Leclerc remembered his emotional race victories for Ferrari and showed off his musical tal...
1hr 4m Dec 15, 2021
1hr 4m
Kimi Raikkonen on retirement, being a world champion and 20 years in F1
After 348 Grand Prix starts, just one remains. Ahead of his final race in Formula 1, Kimi Raikkonen joins Tom Clarkson to look back at his 20 year career: the races, the teammates, the bosses, the championship he clinched in 2007 and those he missed out on. ‘Everything comes to an end sometime’, says the most experienced driver in F1 history, who remembers his very first time in an F1 car and h...
1hr 6m Dec 08, 2021
1hr 6m
Pedro Diniz on fear, his fiery escape, and F1 pressure
Fear is something F1 drivers don’t often admit to feeling. Pedro Diniz does. In his 98 Grands Prix during the 1990s and into 2000, the Brazilian experienced the highs of hard earned top-six points finishes and, on his day, was a match for teammates Jean Alesi and Damon Hill. But, as he tells Tom Clarkson in a rare interview, lucky escapes from a fireball in Argentina and an upside-down car in G...
50m Dec 01, 2021
50m
Fernando Alonso on chasing a third title, Schumacher + Hamilton
In 2021 he returned to the F1 podium with Alpine, but he still wants so much more. Fernando Alonso has his sights set on silverware in 2022 and beyond. In this exclusive episode, the double world champion opens up on his past, present and future with Tom Clarkson. He explains why racing Michael Schumacher was so special, why he ‘wasn’t ready’ for their fierce championship fights in 2005 and 200...
41m Nov 24, 2021
41m
Danny Sullivan: from taxi driver to F1 points and Indy glory
How does a young man from Kentucky go from driving a New York taxi to racing in Formula 1 and winning the Indy 500? Danny Sullivan’s extraordinary story starts with a childhood obsession with F1 books. It sparked a dream of becoming a racing driver, and he moved to Europe to make it come true. Incredibly, Danny lived with the legendary team boss Ken Tyrrell, who gave him an F1 drive in 1983. Da...
52m Nov 17, 2021
52m
Valtteri Bottas on Mercedes, Alfa Romeo goals, coffee and cycling
Five seasons, one unfulfilled dream. Valtteri Bottas will leave Mercedes as a race winner whose brilliant performances contributed to a Constructors Championship quadruple. Yet, as he tells Tom Clarkson, he’ll look back on his years in silver and black with some dissatisfaction. How did Valtteri’s determination to prove himself, the constant uncertainty about his F1 future, and the need to supp...
47m Nov 10, 2021
47m
Tommy Byrne: Senna’s early rival, a lost F1 champion?
Tommy Byrne’s talent in a racing car was likened to that of Ayrton Senna and Michael Schumacher. To those who watched him closely, he was a champion in the making. Why, then, did his Formula 1 career last just five races in an uncompetitive car? Tommy tells Tom Clarkson the story of the impressive wins in junior categories – including one in Ayrton Senna’s car – which got him to F1 in 1982. He ...
1hr 3m Nov 03, 2021
1hr 3m
Jean-Eric Vergne on learning from F1 regrets
Matching Daniel Ricciardo in the same car and twice finishing 6th in a Grand Prix is a Formula 1 record to be proud of. But looking back at his three seasons driving for midfield team Scuderia Toro Rosso, Jean-Eric Vergne thinks he could – and should – have done better. In an honest and unflinchingly self-critical interview, Vergne tells Tom Clarkson how his mentality and even his physical size...
57m Oct 27, 2021
57m
Daniel Ricciardo on winning with McLaren
New team, new trophies, new targets: a lot’s changed in Daniel Ricciardo’s mind since his first Beyond The Grid interview in 2019. But one thing has stayed the same: his will to win. Daniel relives the ‘relief and happiness’ brought by his Monza victory and explains why it meant so much to him and his McLaren teammates. The ‘bitter’ feelings of the past are gone, he says, and his mindset has sh...
55m Oct 20, 2021
55m
Lawrence Stroll’s Aston Martin masterplan
Aston Martin is ‘the next big thing to happen in Formula 1’. So says Lawrence Stroll, who’s brought the historic brand back into the sport. Stroll first entered the F1 world as a clothing sponsor for Lotus in the 90s before teaming up with Ferrari and Michael Schumacher. A life-long lover of beautiful cars, he tells Tom Clarkson what two things convinced him to buy the Force India team and tran...
45m Oct 13, 2021
45m
Emanuele Pirro on developing an iconic McLaren and being a Driver Steward
In his long career, Emanuele Pirro has experienced everything motorsport can throw at a driver. In the 1980s, the Italian raced for Benetton while simultaneously helping to develop Prost and Senna’s mighty McLaren Honda MP4/4. Later, he battled soaking conditions at the infamous 1991 Australian GP and won Le Mans five times. Emanuele has enjoyed an incredible career, and has great stories to te...
1hr 24m Oct 06, 2021
1hr 24m
Race-winning strategist Ruth Buscombe on making the right calls
Sebastian Vettel's first Ferrari victory, Haas' points-scoring debut, the race that saved Sauber - all masterminded by race strategist, Ruth Buscombe. Today, as Alfa Romeo's Head of Race Strategy, she's the unseen hand that helps guide the teams race fortunes. Ruth dissects how race strategists operate, how they use data to plan for and react to wild races, what a race-winning strategy call fee...
1hr 4m Sep 29, 2021
1hr 4m
Nikita Mazepin on his debut F1 season, racing Mick Schumacher and learning with Haas
Nikita Mazepin has spent his first year in Formula 1 fighting at the back of the field. He has big ambitions, and is determined to get to the front. Ahead of the 2021 Russian Grand Prix, he tells Tom Clarkson how he’s finding the ‘huge step’ from Formula 2 to Formula 1, and what he’s learning on and off track. Plus, Mazepin explains his long competitive relationship with Haas teammate Mick Schu...
58m Sep 22, 2021
58m
Jackie Oliver on going from F1 driver to F1 team boss with Arrows
This week’s guest is that rarest of creatures: a man who was both a Formula One driver and a team owner. Jackie Oliver’s F1 journey started in the worst possible circumstances when he had the unenviable task of replacing Jim Clark at Lotus in 1968, after the Scotsman had been killed at Hockenheim. He went on to start 50 GPs for Lotus, BRM, McLaren and Shadow, scoring two podiums, before hanging...
1hr 3m Sep 15, 2021
1hr 3m
America’s first F1 champion Phil Hill, as remembered by his son
In 1961, Phil Hill became the first American to win the Formula 1 World Championship after triumphing for Ferrari in the Italian Grand Prix at Monza. But that moment of monumental personal achievement was extraordinarily bittersweet, with team mate and title rival Wolfgang von Trips losing his life, along with scores of spectators, in the very same race. In this special episode of Beyond The Gr...
1hr 12m Sep 08, 2021
1hr 12m
Mick Schumacher on learning from his father, his ambitions and F1 mentors
His father is a tough act to follow, but Mick Schumacher is loving writing his own Formula 1 story. In his debut season he’s often out of the spotlight at the back of the grid, but he’s proving he’s got what it takes to compete with the front-runners. Mick tells Tom Clarkson about adjusting to life in F1, the lessons he’s still learning from his father’s career, and drops some hints about his f...
38m Sep 01, 2021
38m
Bertrand Gachot – The driver whose prison sentence handed Schumacher his F1 debut
The story of how Michael Schumacher made his debut, 30 years ago this week in Belgium, could have been lifted from a Hollywood movie. The German rookie got his chance when Jordan’s regular driver Bertrand Gachot was dramatically sent to prison on the eve of the race – the rest, as they say, is history. But what of Gachot himself? This week the Luxembourg-born racer joins Tom to tell his incredi...
55m Aug 25, 2021
55m
Sir Patrick Head looks back on a life at Williams
This week we welcome F1 royalty onto the show: Sir Patrick Head, co-founder of Williams and an engineering legend. After going into business with Frank Williams in the late 70s, Patrick helped build one of the greatest teams in history, his engineering acumen leading to world championships aplenty. He speaks about that journey, including what it was like to work with Frank, how he responded to ...
1hr 31m Aug 18, 2021
1hr 31m
Engineer Jock Clear on Villeneuve, Schumacher, Leclerc and Ferrari’s next generation
This week’s guest has spent 30 years in F1, working with some of the sport’s greatest drivers. As Driver Coach of Ferrari’s vaunted academy, Jock Clear’s job is to help the likes of Charles Leclerc and Mick Schumacher perform to the best of their ability – a role he’s performed with others before. Clear became widely known to many F1 fans as race engineer to Jacques Villeneuve at Williams in th...
1hr 11m Aug 11, 2021
1hr 11m
Nicholas Latifi on racing Russell, Williams' future + chocolate spread
Nicholas Latifi always thought he’d follow his father into the world of business – but childhood karting and trips to the Canadian Grand Prix made him dream of racing in Formula 1. Chasing that dream meant leaving home to compete in Europe, and it’s a home he still misses at times. He earned his stripes in Formula 2 alongside Esteban Ocon and Alex Albon. His second season of Formula 1 has broug...
58m Aug 04, 2021
58m
Ex-Ferrari manager Daniele Audetto remembers Niki Lauda’s fiery crash and famous comeback
Daniele Audetto was a key figure in arguably one of the most tumultuous and exciting seasons in F1 history: 1976. As team manager at Ferrari, he reported directly back to Enzo Ferrari from each race – and that included giving him the bad news when Niki Lauda was critically injured at the German Grand Prix. In this week’s show, 45 years on from that dreadful moment, Audetto recounts that weekend...
1hr 23m Jul 28, 2021
1hr 23m
Peter Collins on working under Colin Chapman, living with Hakkinen and running Benetton
This week’s guest may not be a household name, but for 20 years he was at the epicentre of Formula 1. Between the late 70s to early 90s, Peter Collins worked for Lotus under Colin Chapman, then Williams under Sir Frank, then Benetton alongside Flavio Briatore, before returning to run Lotus. In various managerial roles during that period he worked with some great drivers too: Keke Rosberg, Nigel...
1hr 8m Jul 21, 2021
1hr 8m
Charles Leclerc on Ferrari wins, his future and love of piano
Charles Leclerc returns to Beyond The Grid for a second time – and hasn’t a lot happened since his last visit? Charles last came on the show in 2018, when he was in his rookie season with Alfa Romeo Sauber but had just signed to race for Ferrari. Since then he’s become a superstar of the sport, winning races and taking brilliant poles, but also having to endure heart-breaking loss and team mate...
43m Jul 14, 2021
43m
Norbert Haug on bringing Mercedes back into F1, buying Brawn GP and more
This week’s guest, Norbert Haug, held one of the most influential jobs in motorsport for more than 20 years. As the boss of Mercedes-Benz motorsport, he oversaw all of the company’s racing activities – indeed it was him who decided to return the Silver Arrows to F1 as an engine supplier in 1993. Once back, Mercedes enjoyed great success in partnership with McLaren – and Haug has great anecdotes...
1hr 2m Jul 07, 2021
1hr 2m
Christian Horner on Verstappen's 2021, Red Bull's ambitions and Vettel v Webber
F1 Beyond The Grid welcomes back Red Bull boss Christian Horner, who was one of Tom's first guests on the back in 2018. Since then the team have re-emerged as title protagonists, with a real chance of taking both titles in 2021. Horner discusses their turnaround in fortunes, plus the journey they’ve been on to reach this point. There’s talk about the key staff in the team, the new power unit de...
47m Jun 30, 2021
47m
Jacques Laffite on 12 years in F1, winning with Ligier and missed championship chances
Jacques Laffite was part of a wave of fast French F1 drivers who hit the grid in the 1970s and 80s. His 12-year F1 career brought six race victories and he had more than one shot at the World Championship. It’s a record he’s pleased with, but as he reveals, his career is tinged with regret. Jacques tells Tom Clarkson about his eye-opening debut at the original Nürburgring, his championship chan...
1hr 12m Jun 23, 2021
1hr 12m
Ivan Capelli on underdog podiums and his Ferrari nightmare
Ivan Capelli is probably most familiar to F1 fans for driving that iconic ‘Miami blue’ Leyton House March car in the late 1980s. It was for that underdog team that he scored three podiums, worked with a young and innovative designer by the name of Adrian Newey and caught the eye of Ferrari. As an Italian, a move to Maranello was a dream come true, but it soon turned into a nightmare that lasted...
1hr 40m Jun 16, 2021
1hr 40m
NASCAR icon Jeff Gordon on his famous F1 test and love of Grand Prix racing
Our guest this week is a driver who never actually raced in F1 – but he did test an F1 car and very nearly raced one: Jeff Gordon. The Californian is a four-time NASCAR champion and global motorsport icon, who in 2003 enjoyed a life-changing F1 test with Williams. He tells us all about that outing, how close he came to a switch to F1 afterwards, why he loves Grand Prix racing, the differences b...
1hr 5m Jun 09, 2021
1hr 5m
Roberto Moreno's fight into F1, life as a super sub, and replacement by Schumacher
Some drivers seem destined to race in F1. Others have to fight for it. Roberto Moreno was in the latter camp. He arrived in Europe from Brazil with no money, yet he managed to climb the racing ladder on talent alone. An F3000 champion, he got test roles with Lotus and Ferrari, yet the bulk of his career - for one reason or another - was spent with teams at the very back of the grid. In this wee...
1hr 23m Jun 02, 2021
1hr 23m
Yuki Tsunoda on his journey to F1, radio swearing, and debut season
On-track he’s been audacious, daring and fast; off-track he’s been witty, animated… and has occasionally used very colourful language. Yuki Tsunoda is a very welcome addition to Formula One this year and on this week’s show he discusses the start to his Grand Prix career, his infamous radio mannerisms, his love of food, his relationship with Red Bull supremo Helmut Marko, and much more…
40m May 26, 2021
40m
Olivier Panis on his ‘crazy’ Monaco win, 25 years on
Olivier Panis was a very fine Formula 1 driver, but if there’s one thing he’ll be remembered for, it’s his remarkable victory in an utterly crazy Monaco Grand Prix in 1996. On this week’s show, the Frenchman talks us through what it was like to win on that day, for a French team, and how his life changed afterwards. He also discusses the other big moments in his career, including the leg-breaki...
1hr 19m May 19, 2021
1hr 19m
Romain Grosjean on dealing with Bahrain crash flashbacks and his recovery
Romain Grosjean returns to the show for the first time since September 2018 to discuss a life changing last six months for him. The Frenchman, of course, made headline news around the world for his miraculous escape from THAT dreadful fiery crash in Bahrain – and as he tells Tom, the episode has had a profound effect on him. He discusses the aftermath, the flashbacks and his recovery, plus his ...
41m May 12, 2021
41m
Monisha Kaltenborn: F1’s first female team principal
Monisha Kaltenborn is an F1 trailblazer. After growing up in India, she moved to Europe with her family and went on to study law. It was as a lawyer that she first came into contact with F1. She’d go on to become an integral part of the Sauber F1 team, first as CEO and then as the sport’s first ever female team principal. She discusses that incredible journey, plus her experiences of being a hi...
58m May 05, 2021
58m
Paddy Lowe on leaving Williams, winning with Mercedes and working with Hamilton
Paddy Lowe’s career in F1 took him from Williams to McLaren to Mercedes and then back to Williams. Over the course of that journey Paddy developed some of the biggest tech innovations the sport has seen – including active suspension - as well as working with the likes of Senna, Prost, Hakkinen, Mansell and current superstar Lewis Hamilton. On this week’s show he’s open and honest about it all –...
1hr 17m Apr 28, 2021
1hr 17m
Jost Capito on his mission at Williams
Jost Capito has as good a motorsport pedigree as you’re likely to find. His most recent successes on the world championship stage have come in rallying, when he oversaw Ford and Volkswagen’s world title successes – and now he's charged with bringing Williams back to the front of the grid. On this week’s show the Grove team’s CEO opens up on what the Williams family made of his appointment, how ...
51m Apr 21, 2021
51m
Jarno Trulli on winning Monaco, acing qualifying and why Alonso is so quick
This week’s guest was a brilliantly fast racing driver – in pure pace terms, arguably one of the best over his years in the sport. Jarno Trulli won only the one race, at Monaco in 2004, but he put in many sensational qualifying performances - often seemingly out-performing his machinery. We spoke to him about all of the above, as well as what it was like to be Fernando Alonso’s team mate, how m...
56m Apr 14, 2021
56m
Mercedes’ ‘Brackley Boys’ on 20 years of racing with Button, Schumacher, Rosberg and Hamilton
We’ve done something a little different this week, because we haven’t got one special guest, but four! And the glue that links the fab four is that not only do they all work at Mercedes, they’ve all been with the Brackley-based team since the beginning – back when they were BAR, then Honda, then Brawn GP and finally Mercedes. Join Tom as he shares the stories of Ron Meadows, Andrew Shovlin, Sim...
1hr 22m Apr 07, 2021
1hr 22m