The Race F1 Podcast

We have something a bit different for you as we settle into the gap between the Miami and Canadian Grands Prix. In Miami The Race recorded the first of its new 'In conversation with...' interview series as part of The Race Business, and our first guest was none other than McLaren CEO Zak Brown.In the conversation with Darren Cox from The Race Business, Zak looked back over his career prior to heading up the current world champion team, and explained how close he came to accepting a job offer from F1 itself just before McLaren came calling.It's a fascinating discussion where you'll hear Zak discuss his journey before and during his time in F1 in great detail, and it will give you an insight into the way he operates at McLaren, and how he has helped turn around a team that even he admits was "a mess" when he got there.Look for 'The Race Business' on YouTube if you'd like to check out more conversations like this one with big hitters in the F1 industry.

We explain F1’s unexpected decision to move away from the 50/50 split of electric and V6 power in 2027. As well as revealing the full scope of changes that go beyond the increase in V6 and reduction in deployment power for next year, Jon Noble, Ben Anderson and Edd Straw also delve into the difficult details that must be solved to make it happen. The political machinations that made this change of direction possible, and the expected timeline for finalising the changes are also delved into.In the final part of the podcast, we look at the long-term V8 engine plans for 2030 or 2031 and the key considerations for formulating those rules.Get bonus F1 podcasts, extra content and ad-free listening, sign-up to The Race Members' Club on Patreon today.

Can George Russell get his title bid back on track, or is Kimi Antonelli now the firm favourite for the title? That's just one of the questions you threw at us about the increasingly intriguing intra-team battle developing at Mercedes - and we answer several more in this mailbag episode, featuring questions sent in exclusively by The Race Members' Club.There are also questions about plans to reintroduce V8 engines by 2030, the difficulty of following races in 2026, and whether F1 should be concerned at how easily Gasly's car appeared to flip over in Miami. If you'd like to ask a question on a future episode, get bonus F1 podcasts, extra content and ad-free listening, sign-up to The Race Members' Club on Patreon today.

Edd Straw is joined by Jon Noble and Glenn Freeman to review the Miami Grand Prix. It was a race in which Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli completed a hat-trick of victories, but should Lando Norris have come out on top for McLaren, as he did in the sprint? That’s one of the questions the guys debate.There’s also chat about Verstappen’s eventful afternoon, an explanation of Leclerc’s post-race penalty, praise for Franco Colapinto, and much more. Plus Edd, Jon and Glenn tackle the usual bumper haul of questions sent in by The Race Members’ Club.Get bonus F1 podcasts, extra content and ad-free listening, sign-up to The Race Members' Club on Patreon today.

After the sad passing of Alex Zanardi this weekend, we thought it was only right to put together a special episode of Bring Back V10s to pay tribute to a driver that is so fondly remembered by motor racing fans all over the world.Glenn Freeman is joined by Edd Straw and Matt Beer to look back on Zanardi's incredible life and inspirational career, which included two stints in F1, championship-winning success in CART and, after the devastating crash that left him a double amputee, multiple Paralympic hand-cycling gold medals.

Bring Back V10s makes a rare venture into the 2002 season to look back on that year's Malaysian Grand Prix.Glenn Freeman is joined by Matt Beer and Jon Noble to reflect on a result that proved to be a false dawn for the season ahead, plus the collision between Juan Pablo Montoya and Michael Schumacher that earned Montoya F1's first ever drive-through penalty.Also in the spotlight are Jenson Button's maiden podium near-miss, new BAR boss David Richards taking drastic action to sort the struggling team out, a look at what might be the lowest point in Jaguar's miserable F1 story, Takuma Sato's novel approach to trying to swap positions with Jordan team-mate Giancarlo Fisichella, and the latest antics from the Phoenix 'team' that was trying to get onto the F1 grid with year-old Prost cars, and even older engines.There's also a suggestion from Jacques Villeneuve that back in 2002 F1 needed to get rid of testing and expand the calendar to up to 25 races a year. Imagine that!Get bonus F1 podcasts, extra content and ad-free listening, sign-up to The Race Members' Club on Patreon today.

F1 is back after its unexpected early-season hiatus, but with rules tweaks kicking in and teams poised to bring multiple upgrades, how different will everything look in Miami? Edd Straw is joined by Scott Mitchell-Malm and Ben Anderson to discuss which cars will grab the headlines and how the recently revealed rule tweaks will impact qualifying and racing in the sunshine state. They also discuss potential power unit hardware changes for 2027 or 2028, reflect on Turkey re-joining the F1 calendar in 2027, and assess what Alan McNish will bring to Audi, after the multiple Le Mans winner was appointed its new racing director.Get bonus F1 podcasts, extra content and ad-free listening, sign-up to The Race Members' Club on Patreon today.

On this week's very special episode of The Race F1 Podcast, we're delving into the secrets of F1 race commentary. Edd Straw is joined by two of the best in the business when it comes to talking fans through an F1 race: Alex Jacques (the lead commentator for F1 TV, who can also be heard on Channel 4 in the UK and Apple in the US) and Nelson Valkenburg (commentator for Viaplay Netherlands). In a wide-ranging and illuminating discussion, they discuss their approaches to commentary, the key challenges of the job, and dealing with criticism and accusations of bias - especially on social media. They also discuss the unique challenge of calling a race in 2026 - a season when the nature of the racing has fundamentally changed.Get bonus F1 podcasts, extra content and ad-free listening, sign-up to The Race Members' Club on Patreon today.