F1 Beyond The Grid

Formula 1

The risk-takers, late-brakers and history-makers of Formula 1 slow down for in-depth interviews. Tom Clarkson brings you revealing, feature-length conversations with drivers, team bosses, engineering experts and F1 legends.

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437 episodes
Updated July 28

Episodes437

Newest first

Mar 12, 2021 · 2 min
Beyond The Grid Returns March 17!
Mark your diaries – Beyond The Grid is back Wednesday March 17 with more raw, open and honest conversations with the biggest names in F1, from world champions to new-gen sensations, engineering gods to mighty team managers. Don’t miss it!
Mar 3, 2021 · 45 min
REVISITED: Kimi Raikkonen on racing, partying and becoming a family man
In the third of our Beyond The Grid Revisited episodes, where we delve into the show’s archives, we look back on Tom’s conversation with F1’s resident Iceman: Kimi Raikkonen. At the time of recording, Kimi was just about to embark on his first season with Alfa Romeo, after departing Ferrari. He was in extremely good spirits and, in a rare feature-length interview, was happy to open up on everything from his party boy past to the joys of fatherhood. Beyond The Grid will be back with a new series in March.
Feb 24, 2021 · 48 min
REVISITED: Charles Leclerc on overcoming tragedy to race for Ferrari
In the second of our Beyond The Grid Revisited episodes, where we delve into the archives, we look back on Tom’s conversation with a fresh-faced Charles Leclerc in October 2018. At the time, Leclerc was still enjoying a first season of F1 with Alfa Romeo Sauber, but with one eye on Ferrari after signing a deal to race for the Scuderia in 2019. Listen to him discuss his hopes and emotions about racing in red, and about overcoming hardships in his emotional journey to the top of world motorsport. Beyond The Grid will be back with a new series in March.
Feb 17, 2021 · 53 min
REVISITED: Lewis Hamilton opens up on his F1 journey in 2018
In the first of our Beyond The Grid Revisited episodes, where we delve into the archives, we turn the clock back to our very first episode in 2018 to hear from Lewis Hamilton - then only a four-time champion. The Briton discussed how the sport had shaped him, how his interests away from F1 keep him grounded and much, much more. Beyond The Grid will be back with a new series in March.
Dec 16, 2020 · 59 min
The Best of 2020: Tom picks some of his favourite moments from Season 3
This is our final episode of 2020, and my goodness what a year it’s been, both in F1 itself and on this very podcast. We’ve had lots of great guests, lots of wonderful anecdotes, lot of laughs and quite a few tears too. And - we hope you agree - some real insights into some of the sport’s high-rollers. On this special episode, Tom has picked some of his favourite stories and anecdotes from the guests he’s spoken to this year, including gems from Sebastian Vettel, George Russell, Lando Norris, Riccardo Patrese and more!
Dec 9, 2020 · 55 min
Mattia Binotto on the pressure of leading Ferrari
The job of Ferrari team principal is arguably the most prestigious in Formula 1 – but it’s also the one that undoubtedly carries the most pressure. The man whose task it is to lead the Scuderia right now is Mattia Binotto. Binotto is a Ferrari lifer, having joined the team straight out of university and worked numerous roles over his 25 years stay. He tells us all about that journey, which included working as an engineer for Michael Schumacher, as well as the joyous highs and intense lows of managing Ferrari over recent years. There’s also plenty of chat about Leclerc, Sainz and Vettel, plus discussion on how he intends to guide the team back to the front in the years to come…
Dec 2, 2020 · 50 min
Lance Stroll on answering critics and his father-son journey to F1
He’s one of the most exciting young drivers on the grid, with two podiums and one stunning pole position to his name, and yet Lance Stroll has had to deal with a minority of critics throughout his time in the sport. On this week’s show, the Canadian explains how he deals with those voices, how he’s evolved as a driver and person since his debut in 2017, how he was forced to learn from his mistakes on the road to F1, and his relationship with father - and boss! - Lawrence Stroll, the owner of Racing Point...
Nov 25, 2020 · 1 hr 9 min
Lord Hesketh on James Hunt and F1’s original party team
When Hesketh Racing burst onto the F1 grid in the 1970s, they took everyone by surprise. They appeared to be playboys, having fun on and off track. But away from the yachts and the parties, was a small, well-organised group of passionate racers who were determined to win. With James Hunt at the wheel, they did. Lord Alexander Hesketh, who bankrolled and ran the team, tells Tom Clarkson how he ‘accidentally’ got into motor racing, rose to the top, and challenged the old guard of Ferrari, Lotus and McLaren. Lord Hesketh explains the unique quality behind his team’s success and reputation, what made James Hunt a great driver, and why F1 will never see a team like his ever again.
Nov 18, 2020 · 1 hr 25 min
Renault stalwart Alan Permane on 30 years of stars, success and struggles at Enstone
He joined Benetton in the late 1980s as a bottom-rung mechanic and he’s been with the team ever since, as it morphed into Renault then Lotus and now back to Renault. Alan Permane, Renault’s Sporting Director, has seen and done it all in his time at the Enstone factory. He was Michael Schumacher’s mechanic, Giancarlo Fisichella’s race engineer, and he stepped up to lead the team after the Crashgate scandal. He also had an expletive-filled team radio exchange with Kimi Raikkonen in India. Alan reveals the secrets of Renault’s success in the mid-2000s, and how they’re planning to take on Mercedes with Fernando Alonso in 2022.
Nov 11, 2020 · 1 hr 19 min
Jochen Mass on a career tinged with tragedy, racing Lauda and mentoring Schumacher
Jochen Mass’ F1 career began with a bang and ended more than a decade later in a fiery crash. In the 1970s he shared podiums with the likes of Lauda, Hunt, Fittipaldi and Scheckter. His talent deserved more than a single victory, which came on a dark day in Spain in 1975. Tragedy struck again in 1982, when Jochen played a blameless part in the crash which killed the legendary Gilles Villeneuve. Tom Clarkson uncovers the twists and turns of Jochen’s time in F1: the near-victories, cars, bosses and teammates which shaped his character. Jochen is certainly not afraid to speak his mind – a quality he put to very good use in later years when advising his Mercedes sportscar team mate, a young Michael Schumacher.
Nov 4, 2020 · 47 min
Eric Boullier on managing Raikkonen, Kubica’s accident and switching from Team Principal to Promoter
Eric Boullier was Team Principal at Renault and Lotus before he became the Racing Director of McLaren. He resigned from that role in 2018 before switching camps to Paul Ricard, where he is now managing director of the French Grand Prix. In this episode, Tom probes Eric about his life in the sport, from the challenge of managing Kimi Raikkonen to dealing with the aftermath of Robert Kubica’s accident. There’s also time to chat about McLaren and the drivers he worked with there – Button, Alonso and Vandoorne – plus Eric brings us up to speed on all things French GP…
Oct 28, 2020 · 51 min
Safety car secrets with driver Bernd Maylander
He's led hundreds of laps in F1 – but you may never have heard of him. That’s because Bernd Maylander is the Safety Car driver, and has been for the last 20 years. When the weather is bad or there’s a serious incident, Bernd takes to the track to lead the field around at a safe speed – not fast by F1 standards, but still seriously quick. He gives us the inside line on his job, revealing who is the most aggressive behind the Safety Car, the worst conditions he’s ever driven in, how he feels about Lewis Hamilton always giving him the hurry up, and what happened with that massive re-start pile-up in Mugello recently…
Oct 21, 2020 · 42 min
Toto Wolff on Hamilton, Rosberg, Lauda and breaking records
He’s a workaholic, whose team is about to win a record seventh consecutive constructors’ championship. Yet his desire for more trophies remains all-consuming. We welcome back Mercedes boss Toto Wolff for an intimate and relaxed chat at his home in Oxford. Topics up for discussion include his future, how Niki Lauda remains a big influence in his life, the realities of the Rosberg/Hamilton relationship (and why it makes a future Hamilton/Verstappen duo unlikely), how his relationship with Hamilton has evolved, and why records mean nothing to him...
Oct 14, 2020 · 55 min
Chase Carey on his role in shaping F1’s future and guiding the sport through a global pandemic
Chase Carey has been CEO and Executive Chairman of Formula 1 for the last four years, and it’s fair to say he’s been busy in that time. New rules – including F1’s first ever budget cap - have been crafted, a new governance structure has been negotiated, and new races have joined the calendar – and that’s before you consider having to navigate through a global pandemic. On this week’s show – the 100th episode proper – Chase discusses all of the above, as well as discussing Stefano Domenicali’s impending arrival and what he learned from working alongside Rupert Murdoch…
Oct 7, 2020 · 45 min
Sebastian Vettel on leaving Ferrari, life outside F1 and changing goals
He’s a four-time world champion and racing icon, yet Sebastian Vettel’s fiercely private nature means we don’t know as much about him as we do many of his rivals, whose lives are plastered all over social media. We get to know the German racer a little better, discovering how his attitude to F1 has shifted over his 250 Grand Prix starts, finding out how he likes to spend his time away from the track, getting his thoughts on leaving Ferrari and joining Aston Martin, and learning his views on risk, happiness, the environment, parenthood and much more…
Sep 30, 2020 · 1 hr 3 min
Zak Brown on running McLaren, billion-dollar deals and his F1 car collection
A sponsorship guru for more than 20 years, Zak Brown landed his dream job in 2016 when he became executive director, and later CEO, of McLaren – the team he’d supported as an F1-mad kid in California. On this week’s show, Brown discusses how he’s guiding McLaren back to the front of the grid and why he made the moves he has in the driver market. He also gives us the lowdown on his own racing career, including going toe-to-toe with the likes of Juan Pablo Montoya in F3, discusses his epic F1 car collection, and reveals the mind-blowing amount of sponsorship cash he’s brought into F1…
Sep 23, 2020 · 58 min
Racing for Ferrari – Part 2: Mansell, Prost, Vettel and more on the modern era
In the second of our special episodes chronicling what it’s like to drive for Scuderia Ferrari, F1’s most storied team, we fast forward into the modern era, to hear what it’s like to race for the Prancing Horse without founder Enzo at the helm. There are superb stories from Nigel Mansell and Alain Prost, who guided the Maranello team into the Nineties, plus eye-opening insight from fan favourite Rubens Barrichello and current drivers Sebastian Vettel and Charles Leclerc too.
Sep 16, 2020 · 44 min
Racing for Ferrari - Part 1: The Enzo Ferrari years, with Andretti, Scheckter, Brooks and Berger
They’re the most storied team in Formula 1 history, the one that’s been around the longest, the one with the most wins and championships, the one that generates the most headlines, and definitely the one with the most mystique. But what’s it like to drive for the biggest F1 team on the planet, Scuderia Ferrari? In the first of two special episodes, we speak to those who have been there and done it, with our focus in part one on those who drove for the Prancing Horse under legendary founder Enzo Ferrari. So get ready for stories from four Ferrari race winners: Mario Andretti, Jody Scheckter, Tony Brooks and Gerhard Berger…
Sep 9, 2020 · 1 hr 13 min
Antonio Giovinazzi on learning from Raikkonen, his unusual route to F1, and how fast food shaped his career
Think you know Antonio Giovinazzi? Think again. Most of you will know that he’s an Alfa Romeo driver. You might also know he’s the only Italian driver on the grid – the first since 2011. But what else do you know about him? On this week’s show we get to know Kimi Raikkonen’s lion-maned team mate a little better, finding out about his unique path to F1 via a stint in China, the inside line on his sudden F1 call-up in 2017, the inner workings of his relationship with Ferrari, and why he owes his career to a certain fried chicken chain…
Sep 2, 2020 · 58 min
Jochen Rindt remembered - by Helmut Marko, Jackie Stewart and Bernie Ecclestone
September 5th marks the 50th anniversary of Jochen Rindt’s death, during practice for the 1970 Italian Grand Prix. He’d go on to be crowned F1’s first – and thankfully only - posthumous world champion – but his legacy is much more than that.On this very special episode, we look back on Rindt’s rebellious upbringing and racing origins with friend and current Red Bull motorsport advisor Helmut Marko, reminisce on wheel-to-wheel battles and his tragic accident with Sir Jackie Stewart, and see the funny side of the Austrian with former manager and business advisor Bernie Ecclestone.