F1: Beyond The Grid

He streaked into F1 in 2001; a spectacular no-holds-barred racer unafraid to go wheel-to-wheel with the biggest names in the sport. But though he made a big splash, winning seven races, including the Monaco Grand Prix, Juan Pablo Montoya’s Formula 1 career lasted just five-and-a-half seasons before he suddenly said goodbye to Grand Prix racing for good. On this week’s episode of Beyond The Grid, presented by Bose, JPM tells Tom about his short but sweet time in the top flight of racing,...

This week, for the first time on Beyond The Grid, presented by Bose, we’re not speaking to a driver or a team boss, but to an engineer – and someone who’s been directly involved of some of the biggest moments in F1 in the past 20 years. Rob Smedley is probably best known to most fans as Felipe Massa’s long-standing Race Engineer, and in that role he experienced the full gamut of emotions, from the elation of race wins to the heartbreak of a narrow title loss, and the horror of seeing ‘his’...

He's the granddaddy of Brazilian motorsport; a true trailblazer who, having become F1's youngest ever world champion in 1972, inspired a generation of exceptional talent in his homeland, including Nelson Piquet and Ayrton Senna. Emerson Fittipaldi saw it all in his Grand Prix career, from the highs of winning two world titles, 14 races, and two Indy 500s, to the lows of seeing multiple colleagues killed and his family-run team fold. On this week's episode of Beyond The Grid, presented by...

F1 has seen its fair share of second generation racers, but Carlos Sainz doesn't quite fit the mould. The natural script would have been for him to follow his famous father and namesake into rallying, but while Carlos Sainz Sr became a double world champion on the dirt, his son set his sights on F1 after being inspired by countryman Fernando Alonso. In this week's Beyond The Grid, presented by Bose, Sainz speaks about his father's influence on his career, regaling Tom with some great...

To say Claire Williams has racing in her blood would be an understatement. But despite being born into and raised around one of F1’s most successful teams, it’s fair to say she never expected to one day find herself taking the reins of her family squad. On this week’s episode of Beyond The Grid, presented by Bose, the daughter of legendary team boss Sir Frank Williams spills the beans on how she came to take the position of Deputy Team Principal (including the crucial role played by Toto...

He’s regarded as one of the very best drivers of all-time; a man who, when he walked away from F1, had amassed three world championship titles and a then-record 27 Grand Prix victories. But that he was able to walk away at all was something of a success in itself, for so many of his friend and rivals were not so fortunate in an era when death lurked around every corner. This week’s guest on Beyond The Grid, presented by Bose, is that icon of late Sixties and early Seventies F1 racing: Sir...

He’s the only man in the last nine years other than Lewis Hamilton or Sebastian Vettel to win a world title. But what makes Nico Rosberg’s story so compelling is what happened immediately after his crowning glory when, seemingly at the peak of his powers, he walked away from F1. On this week’s episode of Beyond The Grid, presented by Bose, the German talks in depth about his career, including what it took to beat childhood friend and rival Hamilton to the 2016 title, how it felt it emulate...

It takes a special kind of driver to get the call to race for Ferrari with less than a season of Grand Prix racing under your belt - especially when the man you’re set to replace is a world champion. Charles Leclerc is that driver. The young man from Monaco has shown flashes of brilliance this year while racing for Sauber, but it’s not just his skills behind the wheel that set him apart - it’s his mental fortitude too. On this week’s episode of Beyond The Grid, presented by Bose, Leclerc...

He’s one of racing’s toughest nuts – a man who refused to let potentially life-changing injuries stand in the way of his dream of racing in Formula 1. This week on Beyond The Grid, presented by Bose, we’re joined by Johnny Herbert, a man for whom the phrase ‘triumph over adversity’ seems tailor made. Once the bright young hope of British Motorsport, Herbert’s career came to an abrupt halt when he suffered horrific damage to his feet in an F3000 crash. But he refused to give in, battling his...

Daniel Ricciardo’s shock decision to quit Red Bull for Renault in 2019 sent shockwaves through the F1 world – but for rising star Pierre Gasly, it handed him the biggest opportunity of his career so far. After a season and a bit of dazzling drives with Toro Rosso, the young Frenchman is set to leapfrog up the order next season when he moves across to the senior Red Bull squad as team mate to none other than Max Verstappen. On this week’s episode of Beyond The Grid, presented by Bose, the...

The word legend is often bandied about in sports, but this week’s guest on Beyond The Grid, presented by Bose, is truly worthy of the moniker. As a driver, Alain Prost set new standards, establishing a win record that only three drivers in history have surpassed – and he did it against some of the greatest talents in F1 history. His inimitable approach earned him the nickname The Professor, but it’s for his rivalry with Ayrton Senna – his one-time team mate – that the great Frenchman is best...

He's presided over one of the most successful F1 teams of all time - and had to manage one of the most heated rivalries in history. So what exactly makes Mercedes chief Toto Wolff tick? On this week's episode of Beyond The Grid, presented by Bose, the thoughtful Austrian lifts the lid on running a team - including dealing with the 'volcano-like' relationship between Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg - gives a welcome update on colleague Niki Lauda's health, and tells Tom Clarkson about his...

Running an F1 team is a demanding job. When that team is Ferrari, the pressure rises dramatically. Stefano Domenicali knows all about that. On the latest episode of Beyond The Grid, presented by Bose, the Italian recalls his 23 years at the Prancing Horse, which peaked with him taking the reins as Team Principal. He delivers fascinating insight into working with Michael Schumacher, during what was Ferrari’s most successful period, and the hurt endured as Felipe Massa and Fernando Alonso...

There's no doubt that Formula 1 drivers live a largely glamorous life. But to say it's all roses would be far from the truth - and this week's guest on Beyond The Grid, presented by Bose, knows that better than most. In a career spanning more than 100 Grands Prix, Romain Grosjean has experienced the highs of reaching the podium several times and the lows of facing heavy criticism from his fellow drivers for his on-track behaviour. From fascinating insight into working with a sports...

The history of F1 is filled with iconic team owners; extraordinary characters who went above and beyond to build cars and go racing. But it’s fair to say that when they made Eddie Jordan, they broke the mould. The self-proclaimed ‘Irish chancer’ built his team up from nothing, staved off numerous attempts to close it down, ran some of the sport’s finest drivers (including giving a certain Michael Schumacher his F1 debut) and even won several Grands Prix before selling up and starting a new...

With his larger than life personality, penchant for fun and an eye for a party, Gerhard Berger was one of the most popular characters in the F1 paddock in the Eighties and Nineties. But much more than that, he was also one of the era's finest racers, holding his own against - and often beating - the best of the best and driving for both Ferrari and McLaren. In the latest episode of Beyond The Grid, presented by Bose, the Austrian opens up to Tom Clarkson about his carefree racing approach,...

Jacques Villeneuve was just 12 when his father – swashbuckling fan favourite Gilles Villeneuve – was killed in practice for the Belgian Grand Prix. You might have thought that would turn the Canadian away from pursuing a racing career of his own, but instead Jacques climbed – unconventionally – all the way to the top of the Grand Prix tree, winning the F1 world title his father was never able to in 1997. In this week’s episode of Beyond The Grid, presented by Bose, the famously...

In another life, he might have been an F1 driver. Instead, after a slight change of direction, he became a team boss - and the youngest on the grid to boot. On the latest episode of Beyond The Grid, presented by Bose, Christian Horner tells Tom about swapping the driver's seat for the pit wall, why it took 'balls' for Red Bull to pick him to lead their new team, Daniel Ricciardo's shock switch to Renault, and the surreal conversation he once had with the Queen. Oh, and then there's the story...

As a racing driver he fought wheel-to-wheel with - and on his day beat - the very best of his era, including Michael Schumacher, Ayrton Senna and Mika Hakkinen. But for a whole generation of F1 fans, Martin Brundle is ‘Mr Grid Walk’ – a man whose expert analysis and revolutionary approach to F1 broadcasting have won him multiple awards. On this week’s episode of Beyond The Grid, presented by Bose, Tom catches up with the nine-time podium finisher to discuss his action-packed Grand Prix...

Getting to F1 is no easy task for any driver, but the story of Esteban Ocon’s route to the top reads like a Hollywood movie. On the latest episode of Beyond The Grid, presented by Bose, the Frenchman chats to Tom Clarkson about, amongst other things, the incredible sacrifices his family made in support of his career, the touching gesture he made with his first proper salary, his epic battles with fellow young gun Max Verstappen in junior racing, and the highly unusually diet that keeps him...