F1: Beyond The Grid

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...

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 2026, what does their future hold? 

Speaking to Tom Clarkson, Paul shares...

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 ultimately fell short of becoming World Champion.
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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 feels so different.
Lando looks back at races in Canada and Spain he feels he could have won, and give...

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 changed teams just four races into th...

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 the season thus far.
So, where were they going wrong? What have they changed on the c...

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 racing which is thrilling to watch.
Nikolas also looks back at his career in F1, when he enjoyed domi...

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 Clarkson how he’s pushing to make F1 more com...

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 motorsport.

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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 Clarkson, Karl talks in great detail about the...