F1 Beyond The Grid

Toto Wolff + Hywel Thomas: racing towards 2026

As Formula 1 enters an exciting new era of fast, thrilling and sustainable racing in 2026, what can we expect on track? Mercedes Team Principal Toto Wolff, and Managing Director of Mercedes AMG High Performance Powertains, Hywel Thomas, explain how the new power units and advanced sustainable fuels will enhance performance and demand different skills from the drivers and teams. Toto and Hywel tell Tom Clarkson how they feel on the eve of this new rule cycle compared to 2014, when they went on to win eight Constructors’ World Championships in a row, and what they make of rumours in the paddock pitching them as pre-season favourites. You’ll also hear their thoughts on how George Russell and Kimi Antonelli performed in 2025 and what they can achieve in the coming years. This episode is sponsored by: Truewerk: upgrade your day with workwear built like it matters. Get 15% off your first order at truewerk.com [http://truewerk.com] with code GRID.  Indeed: listeners of this show will get a $75 sponsored job credit to help get your job the premium status it deserves at indeed.com/GRID [http://indeed.com/GRID]. F1 Store: F1 Store: treat the F1 fan in your life this festive season with exclusive gear from the Official F1 Store. Shop now at F1Store.formula1.com [https://f1store.formula1.com/en/?ce=1&_s=bm-fi-f1-prtsocial-bf-pod-beyond-the-grid-281125-bc]

Laura Mueller + Esteban Ocon on their race engineer-driver dynamic at Haas

2025 has been a year of firsts for Laura Mueller and Esteban Ocon. For Laura, it’s her first season as a race engineer. For Esteban, it’s his first season with Haas. And it’s their first time working with each other. So how are they finding it? What do they need from one another to get the best out of each other? And how do they communicate in and out of the car? Speaking to Tom Clarkson, Laura and Esteban take us inside their first year working together and how the relationship between a race engineer and an F1 driver works. They provide fascinating insight into how they talk to each other on team radio – explaining when the right time to speak during a lap is, how often they should speak and why that can change in different scenarios. Laura and Esteban also reflect on the highs and lows of this year – including how they bounced back from a challenging season-opener in Melbourne to score points in China the week after. And you’ll hear all about Laura’s path to becoming F1’s first female race engineer and the childhood hero who inspired this journey. This episode is sponsored by: F1 Store: treat the F1 fan in your life this festive season with exclusive gear from the Official F1 Store. Shop now at F1Store.formula1.com [https://f1store.formula1.com/en/?ce=1&_s=bm-fi-f1-prtsocial-bf-pod-beyond-the-grid-281125-bc] Shopify: sign up for your $1 per month trial and start selling today at shopify.com/beyondthegrid [http://shopify.com/beyondthegrid] Aura Frames: For a limited time, save on the perfect gift by visiting AuraFrames.com [http://AuraFrames.com] to get $35 off Aura’s best-selling Carver Mat frames by using promo code GRID at checkout Vanta: get started at vanta.com/GRID [http://vanta.com/GRID] Honda Vintage Culture: right now, listeners can get 20% off the full Honda Vintage Culture range. Just head to hondavintageculture.com [http://hondavintageculture.com/] and use the code BTG20 at checkout

LEGENDS: Sebastian Vettel’s World Champion wisdom

Winning four Formula 1 World Championships is a feat only six elite drivers have achieved. Competing under the highest pressure, year after year, has given Sebastian Vettel rare racing insight. Since retiring from the sport in 2022, he’s been raising awareness of causes he cares about, and reflecting on his career – the peaks, how he learned to balance risks and rewards, and the years where his competitive fire started to fade. The four-time World Champion looks back at his life on the F1 grid with Tom Clarkson. He gives his thoughts on the three drivers racing for the 2025 title: how he admires Lando Norris for being a role model, why he thinks Max Verstappen is under less pressure than his rivals, and how Oscar Piastri’s intelligence impresses him. Sebastian also remembers his time racing at Ferrari, and why he felt he was ‘on his way down’ in his final years with the team. Plus, he shares the advice he gave friend and rival Lewis Hamilton before he joined the Scuderia. This episode is sponsored by: Salesforce: visit salesforce.com/f1 [http://salesforce.com/f1] to learn more about how Formula 1 drives fan excitement with Agentforce - the powerful AI from Salesforce  Truewerk: upgrade your day with workwear built like it matters. Get 15% off your first order truewerk.com [http://truewerk.com] with code GRID

Helmut Marko: choosing champions at Red Bull

Every driver who wants to win with Red Bull needs to impress Helmut Marko. The veteran Motorsport Advisor oversees the team’s young driver programme and helped launch the careers of Sebastian Vettel and Max Verstappen. A former F1 driver himself, he knows what it takes to race under the highest pressure. Helmut tells Tom Clarkson about his life in racing: childhood adventures in Austria with future world champion Jochen Rindt, and the serious eye injury which ended his driving career just as he was about to join Ferrari. He tells the story of how he met Red Bull founder Dietrich Mateschitz, and how they started the F1 team which would go on to win races and championships with Vettel and Verstappen. Plus, Marko explains how Verstappen and Team Principal Laurent Mekies have changed the team’s approach in 2025 and picks the young driver with potential to be a future champion. This episode is sponsored by: CarGurus: go to cargurus.co.uk [http://cargurus.co.uk] for complete vehicle details without any surprises Vanta: get started at Vanta.com/GRID [http://Vanta.com/GRID]. F1 Authentics: discover unique F1 items found nowhere else at the official home of F1 memorabilia. For a limited time, use the code BTGRID10 for an exclusive 10% off your next order. Exclusions apply. Shopify: sign up for your $1 per month trial and start selling today at shopify.com/beyondthegrid [http://shopify.com/beyondthegrid]

Oscar Piastri: fighting for his first F1 title

With three rounds left of the 2025 season, Oscar Piastri is still in contention to become Formula 1 World Champion for the first time. So what’s it like being in the thick of an F1 title fight with so much at stake? Speaking to Tom Clarkson before the Sao Paulo Grand Prix, Oscar opens up about the pressure of a title battle and why fighting a teammate is different to racing against any other driver. He also discusses whether his relationship with teammate Lando Norris has changed this year and how he feels McLaren have handled the challenge of treating them both equally. It’s easy to forget that this is only Oscar’s third season as an F1 driver. With seven wins, seven podiums and five pole positions, he’s taken a huge leap forward. What exactly did he work on over the winter to make so much progress this year? And how are race engineer Tom Stallard, manager Mark Webber and new physio Artturi Simila all helping his development? As well as reflecting on the highs, Oscar also talks about dealing with setbacks in Australia, at Silverstone and in Azerbaijan, which is good insight into how he’ll bounce back from a difficult weekend in Brazil. It's All To Drive For in 2025. Be there! Book your seat for a Grand Prix this season at tickets.formula1.com [http://tickets.formula1.com/] Listen to more official F1 podcasts Every race analysed on F1 Nation [http://www.podfollow.com/f1-nation] Expert answers to your questions on F1 Explains [https://podfollow.com/f1-explains] THIS EPISODE IS SPONSORED BY... SelectQuote: Get the right life insurance for you, for less, and save more than 50% at selectquote.com/beyondthegrid [https://eur01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Flinks.uk.defend.egress.com%2FWarning%3FcrId%3D691387dc753337dab0a8c2a5%26Domain%3Df1.com%26Threat%3DeNpzrShJLcpLzAEADmkDRA%253D%253D%26Lang%3Den%26Base64Url%3DeNrLKCkpsNLXL07NSU0uKSzNL0nVS87P1U9KrczPSynJSE0vykwBAP68Dgs%253D%26%40OriginalLink%3Dselectquote.com&data=05%7C02%7Cjsmith%40f1.com%7C901ba6f61c38401319f408de21549e58%7Cb792abe295a94aff9e3a4beb3206df89%7C0%7C0%7C638984844488018339%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=ynapMWUFpfSTspTEbZuKCfMkoG5xK%2FCguhbQLqMVb5E%3D&reserved=0] Rag & Bone: Upgrade your denim game with Rag & Bone! Get 20% off sitewide with code GRID at www.rag-bone.com [https://eur01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Flinks.uk.defend.egress.com%2FWarning%3FcrId%3D691387dc753337dab0a8c2a5%26Domain%3Df1.com%26Threat%3DeNpzrShJLcpLzAEADmkDRA%253D%253D%26Lang%3Den%26Base64Url%3DeNrLKCkpsNLXLy8v1ytKTNdNys9L1UvOz9UHAG0qCJM%253D%26%40OriginalLink%3Dwww.rag-bone.com&data=05%7C02%7Cjsmith%40f1.com%7C901ba6f61c38401319f408de21549e58%7Cb792abe295a94aff9e3a4beb3206df89%7C0%7C0%7C638984844488035307%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=EPlBo58Ajh1fYzqtpTZ1PGi07WGTPksrDCnHVDB4mNA%3D&reserved=0]