Episodes

  • Ford's Formula 1 return with Red Bull

    Ford's Formula 1 return with Red Bull
    Nov 28 2025
    In a shock reversal of the usual format, this episode of F1 Explains starts with a question that YOU have to answer. It's about an engine company with an incredible winning record in Formula 1. Any guesses?

    For decades, Ford won in Formula 1. Their engines powered drivers and teams to World Championships. In 2026, the company will return to the grid, partnering with Red Bull on a new F1 engine project.

    Christian speaks to Mark Rushbrook, Ford Global Director of Racing, to find out how the partnership with Red Bull will work, what knowledge Ford can use to help Red Bull hit the ground running and how F1 differs from Ford's other racing teams.

    Plus we explain why Red Bull are building their own power unit instead of continuing to buy one from another team, and how the different approaches could affect every team's success in 2026 and beyond.

    Get your question answered on the podcast
    If you have a question for F1 Explains email F1Explains@F1.com

    Witness the crowning of the 2025 Formula 1 World Champion
    Book your seat for a Grand Prix this season at tickets.formula1.com

    One-day grandstand tickets for the 2026 Miami Grand Prix start at $85 - go to f1miamigp.com to get yours

    Listen to more official F1 podcasts
    In-depth interviews with the stars of Formula 1 on F1 Beyond The Grid
    Expert insight before and after every Grand Prix on F1 Nation
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    26 mins
  • How Cadillac are getting ready to race in F1

    How Cadillac are getting ready to race in F1
    Nov 21 2025
    How do you start a brand new F1 team? Does joining at the start of new regulations in 2026 give Cadillac an advantage or disadvantage? What are the team’s goals?

    Cadillac F1 Team CEO Dan Towriss joins Christian Hewgill to answer your questions and tell us what we can expect from F1’s newest team.

    Dan also talks about their driver line-up of Valtteri Bottas and Sergio Perez, Cadillac’s short and long-term engine plans, the role General Motors and TWG Motorsports play in this project, and whether IndyCar star-turned-Cadillac reserve driver Colton Herta could race for the team in the future.

    Get your question answered on the podcast
    If you have a question for F1 Explains email F1Explains@F1.com

    Witness the crowning of the 2025 Formula 1 World Champion
    Book your seat for a Grand Prix this season at tickets.formula1.com
    Tickets for Las Vegas available at f1lasvegasgp.com

    Listen to more official F1 podcasts
    In-depth interviews with the stars of Formula 1 on F1 Beyond The Grid
    Expert insight before and after every Grand Prix on F1 Nation
    Show more Show less
    27 mins
  • James Hinchcliffe on driving an F1 car + how Laura Winter prepares for an F1 weekend

    James Hinchcliffe on driving an F1 car + how Laura Winter prepares for an F1 weekend
    Nov 14 2025
    To answer the latest load of F1 Explains listener questions, Christian is joined F1TV expert James Hinchcliffe, IndyCar race-winner who recently drove an F1 car for the first time, and F1TV lead presenter Laura Winter, who once drove an F4 car but doesn't like to talk about it...

    Laura and Hinch answer your questions on the differences between F1 and IndyCar machinery, how Cadillac's arrival will change the sport in 2026, how they prepare to cover race weekends and the key people F1 teams try and poach from their rivals.

    If you have a question for F1 Explains or a smoke machine F1TV can borrow, email F1Explains@F1.com

    Witness the crowning of the 2025 Formula 1 World Champion
    Book your seat for a Grand Prix this season at tickets.formula1.com
    Tickets for Las Vegas available at f1lasvegasgp.com

    Listen to more official F1 podcasts
    In-depth interviews with the stars of Formula 1 on F1 Beyond The Grid
    Expert insight before and after every Grand Prix on F1 Nation
    Show more Show less
    34 mins
  • Ask Haas - with Ocon, Bearman, Komatsu, Mueller + Crone

    Ask Haas - with Ocon, Bearman, Komatsu, Mueller + Crone
    Nov 7 2025
    How many members of an F1 team does it take to answer the latest batch of your questions? 5, as it turns out!

    Haas drivers Ollie Bearman and Esteban Ocon, Team Principal Ayao Komatsu, Race Engineer Laura Mueller and F1 ACADEMY driver Courtney Crone sat down with Christian Hewgill at the US Grand Prix in Austin.

    Ayao took questions about the parts Haas buys from Ferrari, and what he thinks about Cadillac's entry into F1 in 2026. Laura explains how F1 teams fix car problems during a Grand Prix. Courtney tells us how working with Haas is helping her racing career. Esteban and Ollie talk car set ups and simulators, all while eating their pre-race lunch.

    Got a question about F1? We'll find the best person to answer it
    Send your voice notes and emails to F1Explains@F1.com

    Witness the crowning of the 2025 Formula 1 World Champion
    Book your seat for a Grand Prix this season at tickets.formula1.com
    Tickets for Las Vegas now available at f1lasvegasgp.com

    Listen to more official F1 podcasts
    In-depth interviews with the stars of Formula 1 on F1 Beyond The Grid
    Expert insight before and after every Grand Prix on F1 Nation
    Show more Show less
    39 mins
  • How data helps F1 drivers go faster - with McLaren's Tom Stallard + Jolyon Palmer

    How data helps F1 drivers go faster - with McLaren's Tom Stallard + Jolyon Palmer
    Oct 31 2025
    When Formula 1 drivers want to go faster, they study squiggly lines on a screen. This is F1 data, showing how drivers accelerate, brake, steer and more. Hidden in the squiggles are the secrets of speed.

    Tom Stallard, Race Engineer to Oscar Piastri at McLaren, and former F1 driver Jolyon Palmer join Christian Hewgill to decode F1 data.

    Tom answers your questions on what data is recorded, how it is fed back to the teams by hundreds of sensors on each car, and how engineers analyse thousands of pieces of information.

    Jolyon explains how F1 drivers study their own data to find improvements, what they can learn from looking at their team mates and rivals' data, and the data drivers need to know during qualifying and races.

    Got a question? We'll find the best person to answer it
    Send your voice notes and emails to F1Explains@F1.com

    Witness the crowning of the 2025 Formula 1 World Champion
    Book your seat for a Grand Prix this season at tickets.formula1.com
    Tickets for Las Vegas now available at f1lasvegasgp.com

    Listen to more official F1 podcasts
    In-depth interviews with the stars of Formula 1 on F1 Beyond The Grid
    Expert insight before and after every Grand Prix on F1 Nation
    Show more Show less
    35 mins
  • David Coulthard + Mika Hakkinen explain F1 team mate title battles - LIVE at the US Grand Prix

    David Coulthard + Mika Hakkinen explain F1 team mate title battles - LIVE at the US Grand Prix
    Oct 23 2025
    Once McLaren team mates fighting for the Formula 1 World Championship, now legends of the F1 Paddock, Mika Hakkinen and David Coulthard know how it feels to be in the middle of a title battle.

    The pair join Christian Hewgill and F1 Explains listeners live on stage in Austin, Texas, to answer your questions.

    David and Mika explain how McLaren handled their title rivalry in the late 1990s, compare their experiences to this year's intensifying battle between Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris and discuss whether team mates can be friends.

    Plus, why braking in an F1 car literally takes your breath away, some dogs named after F1 stars and the racing jobs David and Mika would want to do if they weren't drivers.

    Have your question answered on the podcast
    Send your voice notes and emails to F1Explains@F1.com

    Witness the crowning of a World Champion
    Book your seat for a Formula 1 Grand Prix this season at tickets.formula1.com

    Listen to more official F1 podcasts
    In-depth interviews with the stars of Formula 1 on F1 Beyond The Grid
    Expert insight before and after every Grand Prix on F1 Nation
    Show more Show less
    32 mins
  • Gabriel Bortoleto explains F1 driving tricks, F2 v F1, steering wheels + driving in the pit lane

    Gabriel Bortoleto explains F1 driving tricks, F2 v F1, steering wheels + driving in the pit lane
    Oct 16 2025
    What does ‘lift and coast’ mean and why do drivers use this technique? How do they reduce their speed under a Virtual Safety Car? Why do they use a different engine mode when driving in the pitlane? And what do the buttons on an F1 steering wheel do?

    Sauber’s Gabriel Bortoleto joins Christian Hewgill in the paddock at the United States Grand Prix to answer your questions.

    Gabriel also reveals what has surprised him the most about teammate Nico Hulkenberg, how he feels about racing his manager Fernando Alonso on track and the differences between F2 and F1 cars.

    Have your question answered on the podcast
    Send your voice notes and emails to F1Explains@F1.com

    It's All To Drive For in 2025. Be there!
    Book your seat for a Grand Prix this season at tickets.formula1.com

    Listen to more official F1 podcasts
    In-depth interviews with the stars of Formula 1 on F1 Beyond The Grid
    Expert reaction before and after every Grand Prix on F1 Nation
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    28 mins
  • Marshals: The ‘first line of safety for F1 drivers’

    Marshals: The ‘first line of safety for F1 drivers’
    Oct 9 2025
    Without marshals, we wouldn't be able to go racing.

    In their bright orange jumpsuits, they're hard to miss. Hundreds of them are dotted around the track to ensure the safety of all the drivers competing in every series during a Formula 1 Grand Prix weekend.

    So how do they keep drivers safe? What roles are different marshals performing at different parts of the circuit? How do they know which flags to wave? What’s the process they go through when responding to incidents on track? And how do they work with Race Control?

    Ahead of the United States Grand Prix in Austin, Christian Hewgill and Katie Osborne have been speaking to Mike Vandament and Jennifer Kelly, both of whom volunteer as marshals at the Circuit of the Americas, to answer your questions about what they do during a race weekend.

    And if you're interested in becoming a marshal, Sydney Davis Yagel works for the Sports Car Club of America. It’s her job to get people started with marshalling and other trackside jobs. Sydney tells Christian and Katie how she gives people those opportunities and what type of person she thinks makes a good marshal.

    THE BEGINNER'S GUIDE TO FORMULA 1 FLAGS
    Click here to find out what all the different flags in Formula 1 mean.

    Have your question answered on the podcast
    Send your voice notes and emails to F1Explains@F1.com

    It's All To Drive For in 2025. Be there!
    Book your seat for a Grand Prix this season at tickets.formula1.com

    Listen to more official F1 podcasts
    In-depth interviews with the stars of Formula 1 on F1 Beyond The Grid
    Expert reaction before and after every Grand Prix on F1 Nation
    Show more Show less
    31 mins