James Allen On F1

62: Freezing speed - F1 life through a lens

F1’s surge in popularity in the last five years is not because the sport itself has notably changed or improved. It is because people have discovered it, a sleeping giant. The sport lends itself so well to social media - being such a visually rich spectacle. With its extreme personalities and electrifying speed, it is also a wonderful platform for storytelling.  This week we are going to explore this side of the sport with one of the great photographers of the modern era of F1, Darren Heath. Darren works with speed, spectacle and personality. He freezes it, capturing a moment that would otherwise be lost forever, memorializing it for people around the world to enjoy. So what goes through his mind when he looks through the viewfinder and presses the shutter? How does he weave rich storytelling into an image? Which drivers’ faces are the most interesting? How do today’s compare to the greats like Senna, Prost and Schumacher? When he is trackside, the cars moving at 180mph a few feet away, what aspects of F1 does he see that don’t come across for fans on other media like TV or the written word? And how much can someone achieve trackside with an iPhone? This revealing interview takes the audience behind the veil of F1 and offers a fresh, close-up take of the people that make our sport. Send your comments or questions to: @jamesallenonf1 on X or jamesallenonf1@autosport.com [jamesallenonf1@autosport.com]. A Motorsport Studios production for Autosport

61: Lando Norris World Champion – Proves nice guys can finish first!

> We have a new F1 World Champion, Lando Norris. He held his nerve in Abu Dhabi to finish on the podium, which is all he needed to do to become one of only 35 drivers in history to win the F1 World Championship.  > > > > It’s a proud moment for Autosport too, because in 2016 Lando won the prestigious Autosport BRDC Young Driver Award. The prize was his first test in an F1 car – a McLaren - the following year, his first step on the F1 ladder. Norris follows Jenson Button as the second Young Driver Award winner to become F1 World Champion.  > > > > James Allen wraps up Abu Dhabi and closes the cycle on our Season in Numbers series. At each quarter stage of the season we have looked at the underlying numbers to spot trends and learn more about what’s really been going on.  > > > > Joining James in the studios are Autosport F1 writers Jake Boxhall Legge and Ronald Vording.  > > > > Fan Voting for the 38th Autosport Awards is open. To vote for the Driver, Team, Rookie and Moment of the Year go to https://www.autosport.com/awards-voting/ [https://www.autosport.com/awards-voting/]  > > > > Send your comments or questions to: @jamesallenonf1 on X or jamesallenonf1@autosport.com [jamesallenonf1@autosport.com]. PA Motorsport Studios production for Autosport

60: What the pressure feels inside an F1 team at a title showdown

It’s crunch time in Abu Dhabi, with a three-way fight for the F1 World Drivers Championship. From McLaren’s point of view it didn’t have to be this way. If they had avoided the disqualifications in Vegas, or made a better strategy call in Qatar, they would now be guaranteed their first World Champion since Lewis Hamilton in 2008. As it is Lando Norris will be champion if he finishes third or higher, while Max Verstappen is only 12 points behind him and has chances. Oscar Piastri needs luck to go his way after the crushing disappointment of losing a certain race win in Qatar.  James Allen explores all of this and what it’s like to be in the middle of a title showdown, with someone who was in the thick of it in 2007, when McLaren lost the championship from a position not unlike today’s - former McLaren mechanic now journalist and broadcaster Marc Priestley. And our F1 writer with his ear to the ground, Ronald Vording, joins us from Abu Dhabi. Send your comments or questions to: @jamesallenonf1 on X or jamesallenonf1@autosport.com [jamesallenonf1@autosport.com].  -- A Motorsport Studios production for Autosport

59: Inside the mental battle as F1 2025 reaches crunch point

This week we go inside the minds of the competitors for the F1 World Championship.  We explain some of the things that happened during an intense Las Vegas GP weekend – including the dramatic double disqualification of the McLaren cars that sets up an incredibly tense final two rounds for the World Championship And we look ahead in depth to what happens next. We focus particularly on two areas: which teams will have the best car for the Qatar and Abu Dhabi circuits? And with so much pressure riding on it, what is the mental game here? How do the drivers and their trainers cope with the 11 hour time difference from Vegas to Qatar so they can maintain peak performance? How do they cope with the stress and the pressure? And with McLaren making such a costly mistake in Vegas, how do the leaders make sure the team doesn’t lose confidence? With James Allen in the studio to discuss this we have two real subject matter experts. Nick Harris, who trained and mentored many great drivers in the past 20 years from Mark Webber, David Coulthard and Eddie Irvine to Fernando Alonso and Nico Hulkenberg.  And Autosport’s F1 writer who can demystify the technical side, Jake Boxhall Legge.  Send your comments or questions to: @jamesallenonf1 on X or jamesallenonf1@autosport.com [jamesallenonf1@autosport.com]. A Motorsport Studios production for Autosport

58: Meet the leader making F1’s smallest team punch above its weight!

This week, we have the latest in our series of F1 team principal interviews as we meet Ayao Komatsu at the HQ of Haas, F1’s smallest team. What Haas may lack in headcount, they more than make up for in team spirit, as this engaging interview reveals. Ayao has been at Haas since the team debuted in 2016. Last season Gene Haas picked him to succeed the charismatic, but sweary Guenther Steiner as team principal. Ayao was born in Japan and moved to England as a teenager to study English and pursue his dream of working in F1. He rose through the ranks as an engineer with Lotus and Renault, where he worked closely with Romain Grosjean. As a highly competitive F1 season comes to a close, Haas is fighting Aston Martin and Racing Bulls for 6th in the Constructors’ Championship. Ayao reflects on some key decisions taken earlier this season, which have boosted Haas’ recent competitiveness. Ollie Bearman equalled the team’s best ever result with P4 in Mexico and then backed that up with another strong points haul in Brazil. Joining James Allen in the studio for a wraparound chat is former Red Bull and Aston Martin F1 technical leader Dan Fallows. Send your comments or questions to: @jamesallenonf1 on X or jamesallenonf1@autosport.com . Producer: Ben Holmes, Andrea Sidler A Motorsport Studios production for Autosport