The Race F1 Podcast

Tech Show: Is the FIA right to ban active aero for Monaco? 04.06.2026 1ώ

The Monaco Grand Prix provides F1 drivers with a unique challenge, but they'll have one less thing to think about this year after the FIA decided that there will be no straight mode zones in the Principality, and hence no opportunity to use the active front and rear wings that are a feature of the 2026 regulations. Is that the right call? One man who doesn't think so is former F1 technical director Gary Anderson, who explains why to Edd Straw in the latest edition of The Race F1 Tech Show.Edd and Gary also discuss the implementation of the 'Rev 1' engine map for this weekend, explaining what it is and why it's being used, plus there's a wider look at the unique engineering challenge that Monaco provides compared to other circuits.And, as ever, we round off the episode with our listener questions section, in which Gary tackles questions on Ferrari's curious engine smoke, car ballast, the purpose of ADUO and limiting outwash.If you'd like to ask Gary a question, send it to podcasts@the-race.comGet bonus F1 podcasts, extra content and ad-free listening, sign-up to The Race Members' Club on Patreon today. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Why F1 teams are so convinced of an upset in Monaco 03.06.2026 46λ

On the latest episode of The Race F1 Podcast, we discuss whether F1 2026 could be set for its first upset, with Ferrari hotly-tipped to set the pace in Monaco. But why are the Scuderia so fancied at this race, and if they are to set the pace, will it be track specialist and home favourite Charles Leclerc that leads the way or his resurgent team mate Lewis Hamilton?Edd Straw is joined by Josh Suttill and Ben Anderson to discuss Ferrari's chances and who else might be in the fight for victory. They also discuss the rule changes that have been implemented for the Monaco weekend, explaining why the FIA has banned the use of active aero and how the energy deployment restrictions that have been imposed will impact racing.Note: This podcast was recorded before news broke of Leclerc extending his Ferrari contract.Get bonus F1 podcasts, extra content and ad-free listening, sign-up to The Race Members' Club on Patreon today. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Can Mercedes avoid Antonelli vs Russell civil war? 01.06.2026 1ώ 6λ

We ask what Toto Wolff’s version of ‘papaya rules’ should look like as he bids to keep battling Mercedes team-mates George Russel and Kimi Antonelli in line in the latest episode of The Race F1 Podcast. Nelson Valkenburg and Scott Mitchell-Malm join Edd Straw to discuss the way the battle could and should be managed on track, and the risks of trying to keep too tight a leash on Antonelli and Russell. We also take listener questions on Ferrari communications, Valtteri Bottas’s struggles, the driving style flexibility of the 2026 car and the chances of the field closing up at the front. There’s also a look at the troubled form of Esteban Ocon and Alex Albon, McLaren’s strategy malaise and the focus of rule changes. Get bonus F1 podcasts, extra content and ad-free listening, sign-up to The Race Members' Club on Patreon today. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Bring Back V10s: Why Benetton's post-Schumacher era was so rough 28.05.2026 1ώ 14λ

Bring Back V10s tackles one of F1's roughest title wins hangovers in episode 6 of season 13, with a look back at the sudden downturn in fortunes for one of the 1990s' elite teams.Benetton was on top of the world at the end of 1995, having clinched the constructors’ crown and back-to-back drivers’ world titles with Michael Schumacher. But with Schumacher departing for Ferrari in 1996, the team had a new challenge to prove its success wasn’t just about the driver - and it didn't go very well...Joining Glenn Freeman for a look back at Benetton’s turbulent post-Schumacher period are Matt Beer and Ben Anderson.They discuss the logic behind choosing Jean Alesi and Gerhard Berger to lead Benetton's new era, how quickly things got fractious behind the scenes and whether this decline was always inevitable no matter who Benetton picked for its life after Schumacher.Get bonus F1 podcasts, extra content and ad-free listening, sign-up to The Race Members' Club on Patreon today. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What major new deal says about Alpine’s chances of becoming an F1 force again 27.05.2026 34λ

Alpine announced a major new sponsorship deal on Wednesday, with Italian fashion house Gucci to enter Formula 1 for the first time next year as the team's title sponsor. Jon Noble, who was at the launch event in Paris, joins Edd Straw to explain why this deal is so significant for Alpine (and parent company Renault) outside of the obvious money it will bring. Edd and Jon also discuss Alpine's wider progress this season, as the former world championship winning team - under the leadership of Flavio Briatore - continues its steady rise back up the grid after its rock bottom finish in the constructors' standings in 2025. And finally, Jon explains what impact the new deal might have on the team's driver line-up of Pierre Gasly and Franco Colapinto going forward, as Briatore looks to make another fashion brand a serial F1 winner, after his previous success with Benetton.Get bonus F1 podcasts, extra content and ad-free listening, sign-up to The Race Members' Club on Patreon today. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Canadian GP Driver Rankings: Did we get them right? 26.05.2026 47λ

In the first episode of a new regular post-race series, Edd Straw presents his Canadian Grand Prix Driver Rankings and takes questions on what he got right - and what he got wrong...Joining Edd to probe his decision making - and share the thoughts of The Race Members' Club - is Glenn Freeman, who presses Edd on the rationale behind where he ranked the duelling Mercedes drivers, a resurgent Lewis Hamilton, and a clumsy Oscar Piastri.If you want to take issue with Edd's ranking and have your viewpoint discussed on the show, sign-up to The Race Members' Club on Patreon today. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Canadian GP: Mercedes title battle blows up as Antonelli wins again 25.05.2026 1ώ 13λ

From Montreal, Edd Straw and Jon Noble are joined by Josh Suttill to discuss a thrilling Canadian Grand Prix in which the world championship battle between Mercedes drivers Kimi Antonelli and George Russell really came alive. But did the Silver Arrows' intra-team battle step over the line given Toto Wolff has warned he may put the handbrake on? The guys debate this, as well as discussing McLaren's strange implosion, Lewis Hamilton's revival, Red Bull's mixed outing and all of the race's other big talking points. Plus, there's the usual bumper selection of listener questions to answer.Get bonus F1 podcasts, extra content and ad-free listening, sign-up to The Race Members' Club on Patreon today. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In-Car Insights: Edd and Jon review their first day in the Canadian GP paddock 22.05.2026 20λ

As a special bonus, we're making the Thursday edition of our In-Car Insights podcast - usually only available to The Race Members' Club - free for everyone to listen to. Angry reactions to "b******t" speculation, intrigue over F1's supposedly agreed 2027 engine plan, and a whole race weekend to look forward to - it was quite the first day in the Canadian Grand Prix paddock for Edd Straw and Jon Noble. What luck that they had a handy shuttle journey in which to record an episode of In-Car Insights!If you like what you hear - and we're confident you will - head to Patreon.com/therace to sign up to The Race Members' Club and enjoy these bonus episodes (and much more besides) on every grand prix weekend. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

How F1 became hostage to its manufacturers - The Undercut with Damon Hill and Mark Hughes 21.05.2026 51λ

On the latest episode of The Undercut, Damon Hill and Mark Hughes explore the complex relationship that F1 has with automotive manufacturers - a relationship that many would argue is to blame for the knot that the sport has put itself in with the 2026 regulations. With another big manufacturer - Chinese car giant BYD - exploring joining the grid, is it time for F1 to de-couple itself from the 'myth' that road relevancy was every really an important aspect of the sport? That's the question at the heart of this wide-ranging conversation...Get bonus F1 podcasts, extra content and ad-free listening, sign-up to The Race Members' Club on Patreon today. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Is Red Bull 2.0 good enough to keep Verstappen? 20.05.2026 58λ

With Max Verstappen’s future still up in the air, can Red Bull Racing 2.0 really can convince him it’s the place to be in the short and long-term? And what might the team do should it be necessary to replace the Dutchman in 2027 or the years that follow? Edd Straw is joined by Jon Noble and special guest Matt Majendie - author of the new book Inside Red Bull Racing - to debate those questions, and ask whether the new-look Red Bull (devoid of championship-winning stalwarts like Christian Horner, Helmut Marko, Adrian Newey and more) still has what it takes to be F1’s standard-setter.Get bonus F1 podcasts, extra content and ad-free listening, sign-up to The Race Members' Club on Patreon today. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Tech Show: Fixing Ferrari’s risk-averse culture + Dubious 2026 F1 car developments 19.05.2026 49λ

On the latest episode of The Race F1 Tech Show, Edd Straw and former F1 technical director Gary Anderson discuss the concept of risk vs reward in grand prix racing, following on from Fred Vasseur's recent comments that Ferrari need to move out of a conservative mindset and 'push everything' in terms of innovation.Edd and Gary also discuss some of the latest tech developments seen in F1, including a clever exploitation at the rear of the Red Bull's sidepod - or technically the floor - that has gone straight onto Gary's 'dubious list'.And finally, Gary answers several questions sent in by listeners. On this weeks list are questions about hydrogen-fuelled F1, our battery graphic complaints, and if the introduction of V8 engines could be brought forward to 2028.If you'd like to ask Gary a tech question, send it to podcasts@the-race.comGet bonus F1 podcasts, extra content and ad-free listening, sign-up to The Race Members' Club on Patreon today. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Why Verstappen's Nurburgring adventure was a successful failure 17.05.2026 32λ

While his F1 colleagues were putting their feet up and enjoying a weekend without racing, Max Verstappen was at the Nurburgring taking part in one of the most demanding 24-hour events in the world - and coming ever so close to taking victory on debut. But what can we learn from the Dutchman's near-miss and what do his latest exploits away from F1 tell us about his future in grand prix racing? Edd Straw is joined by a sleep-starved Josh Suttill, still at the Nurburgring, to answer those questions and more...Get bonus F1 podcasts, extra content and ad-free listening, sign-up to The Race Members' Club on Patreon today. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The art of communicating with F1 drivers - A race engineer shares his secrets with Damon and Johnny 16.05.2026 57λ

On the latest episode of Stay On Track, Damon Hill and Johnny Herbert go deep on the most important relationship in F1 - the one between a driver and his race engineer. They're joined by special guest Pierre Hamelin, who listeners might recognise as Arvid Lindblad's race engineer at Racing Bulls. Pierre has developed a reputation as a man who nurtures rookie drivers, having previously engineered Alex Albon, Pierre Gasly, Carlos Sainz, Daniel Riccardo, Liam Lawson, Isack Hadjar and others. But how does he go about helping a young driver get the best out of himself and the car?Pierre shares his secret tips and tricks, plus Johnny and Damon discuss the evolving F1 title race and why Canada is such an important grand prix for George Russell...Get bonus F1 podcasts, extra content and ad-free listening, sign-up to The Race Members' Club on Patreon today. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Bring Back V10s: Turkey 2010 - The dramatic fallout from big Vettel/Webber clash 14.05.2026 1ώ 28λ

Bring Back V10s drops a couple of cylinders to look back at a famous race from the V8 era: the 2010 Turkish Grand Prix. Glenn Freeman is joined by Edd Straw and Jon Noble, who were both at Istanbul Park that weekend, to look back on a race most famous for Red Bull team-mates Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber wiping each other out while battling for the lead!As well as analysing the incident we look back on how everyone involved handled it, and why Red Bull couldn't get the situation under control after the race.McLaren also had a misunderstanding of its own that almost resulted in Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button repeating the Red Bull trick on their way to a 1-2 finish, featuring some pretty animated radio traffic from Hamilton.Off-track we look back on how Robert Kubica was settling in at Renault, the struggles for the new teams on the grid in 2010, Michelin's late bid to derail Pirelli's 2011 F1 deal, Mercedes' underwhelming start to life as a team owner, and why things looked so bleak for Ferrari at this stage of the season.Get bonus F1 podcasts, extra content and ad-free listening, sign-up to The Race Members' Club on Patreon today. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

How Toyota is helping transform F1’s smallest team 13.05.2026 59λ

Haas is Formula 1’s smallest team, but its Toyota partnership is playing a big part in helping it to continue to overachieve. Scott Mitchell-Malm, who paid a visit to its Banbury facility between the Japanese and Miami Grands Prix, and Edd Straw, who recently attended a Haas TPC (testing of previous cars) test at Silverstone, get together to tell the story of this unique team. We look at the Toyota deal and how it has led to the creation of the TPC programme, the ongoing driver-in-loop simulator build project and also production enhancements for the team. We also hear from Toyota project manager Pierre Genon, who is tasked with overseeing the way the two companies work together and reveals what’s happened, and what is to come, for this partnership. There’s also a look at the future, asking whether one day this could be a Toyota works team, if a sale is possible and also how far owner Gene Haas might be willing to go with it. Get bonus F1 podcasts, extra content and ad-free listening, sign-up to The Race Members' Club on Patreon today. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

'It was a mess' - Zak Brown reveals how McLaren turned its F1 fortunes around 10.05.2026 33λ

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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

F1’s sudden engine change for 2027 explained 08.05.2026 52λ

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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Tech Show: Should the FIA have clamped down on certain Miami upgrades? 07.05.2026 56λ

On the latest episode of The Race F1 Tech Show, Edd Straw is joined by former F1 technical director Gary Anderson to discuss the multitude of tech storylines that came out of the Miami Grand Prix weekend.First up, following Gary's heartfelt tribute to Alex Zanardi, Edd and Gary look at the significant upgrades we saw on most of the cars in Miami, and the impact they had on the racing. Should the FIA have clamped down on some of them? Gary suggests they should have...After that, Edd and Gary run the rule over F1's engine future, following comments made by FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem that the sport will abandon its current V6 hybrids and revert to V8 units with “minor electrification”. Is this the right move?And finally, Gary tackles another selection of listener questions. If you'd like to ask Gary a question, send it to podcasts@the-race.comGet bonus F1 podcasts, extra content and ad-free listening, sign-up to The Race Members' Club on Patreon today. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Has Russell's title bid gone off-track already? Your questions answered 06.05.2026 1ώ 2λ

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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Miami GP: Antonelli in charge - but did McLaren and Norris miss a chance to win? 04.05.2026 1ώ 6λ

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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.