New team, new trophies, new targets: a lot’s changed in Daniel Ricciardo’s mind since his first Beyond The Grid interview in 2019. But one thing has stayed the same: his will to win. Daniel relives the ‘relief and happiness’ brought by his Monza victory and explains why it meant so much to him and his McLaren teammates. The ‘bitter’ feelings of the past are gone, he says, and his mindset has shifted; he’s now driving for much more than just World Championship points. He’s also determined to enjoy himself away from the track, and tells Tom Clarkson why he loves dirt biking, surfing (despite a fear of sharks), the Buffalo Bills NFL team and life on his farm in Australia.  This episode is sponsored by: sons.co.uk - use the code GRID30 to get £30 off your first order babbel.com/play - use promo code GRID for an extra six months free Expo 2020 - visit expo2020dubai.com  

F1: Beyond The Grid

153: Daniel Ricciardo on Winning with McLaren

Aston Martin is ‘the next big thing to happen in Formula 1’. So says Lawrence Stroll, who’s brought the historic brand back into the sport. Stroll first entered the F1 world as a clothing sponsor for Lotus in the 90s before teaming up with Ferrari and Michael Schumacher. A life-long lover of beautiful cars, he tells Tom Clarkson what two things convinced him to buy the Force India team and transform it into Aston Martin. Now – with son Lance and Sebastian Vettel at the wheel of the dark green cars - Stroll’s aiming to win in Formula 1. He explains his masterplan for a talented team and a state-of-the-art factory that he believes will change the face of Grand Prix racing. 

152: Lawrence Stroll’s Aston Masterplan

In his long career, Emanuele Pirro has experienced everything motorsport can throw at a driver. The Italian raced for Benetton while also helping to develop Prost and Senna’s mighty McLaren Honda MP4/4 in the 1980s. Later, he battled soaking conditions at the infamous 1991 Australian GP and won Le Mans five times. Emanuele has enjoyed an incredible career, and has great stories to tell. Why did he reject Ferrari? Why did Riccardo Patrese hit him on the helmet after his final Grand Prix? Emanuele also tells Tom Clarkson about his current role as an FIA Driver Steward.

151: Emanuele Pirro on racing for Benetton, developing McLaren’s MP4/4, and work as a Driver Steward

She's the unseen hand that helps guide Kimi Raikkonen and Antonio Giovinazzi's race fortunes - Ruth Buscombe, head of race strategy at Alfa Romeo, joins Beyond the Grid this week to dissect how race strategists operate, how they try and plan and react to wild races like Sochi, what a race-turning strategy call feels like - and also on championing diversity and how her own journey into F1 began in the first place.   For more information on FIA Women in Motorsport and Girls on Track, check out: https://www.fia.com/women-motorsport https://www.fia.com/thegirlsontrack https://www.motorsportuk.org/the-sport/women-in-motorsport/girls-on-track-uk/       This episode is sponsored by: Babbel  - go to uk.babbel.com/play and use the code GRID for an extra six months free

150: Race Strategy Secrets with Ruth Buscombe

Nikita Mazepin has spent his first year in Formula 1 fighting at the back of the field. He has big ambitions, and is determined to get to the front. Ahead of the 2021 Russian Grand Prix, he tells Tom Clarkson how he’s finding the ‘huge step’ from Formula 2 to Formula 1, and what he’s learning on and off track. Plus, Mazepin explains his long competitive relationship with Haas teammate Mick Schumacher, and remembers how he left Russia to pursue his driving career, with his father by his side since his very first race. This episode is sponsored by: Calm - get 40% off a Calm Premium subscription at CALM.COM/GRID Express VPN  - get an extra three months FREE at expressvpn.com/grid 

149: Nikita Mazepin on his debut F1 season, racing Mick Schumacher and learning with Haas

This week’s guest is that rarest of creatures: a man who was both a Formula One driver and a team owner. Jackie Oliver’s F1 journey started in the worst possible circumstances when he had the unenviable task of replacing Jim Clark at Lotus in 1968, after the Scotsman had been killed at Hockenheim. He went on to start 50 GPs for Lotus, BRM, McLaren and Shadow, scoring two podiums, before hanging up his helmet to start his own team: Arrows. He gives a fascinating insight into life as a driver in the 60s, what he learnt from Colin Chapman that he would apply to life as a team boss, the incredible dramas that beset Arrows in the early days, and that ‘almost victory’ with Damon Hill in 1997… This episode is sponsored by: Babbel - Go to uk.babbel.com/play and use promo code GRID for an extra six months free

148: Jackie Oliver on going from F1 driver to F1 team boss with Arrows

Exactly sixty years ago, Phil Hill became the first American to win the Formula 1 World Championship after triumphing for Ferrari in the 1961 Italian Grand Prix at Monza. But that moment of monumental personal achievement was extraordinarily bittersweet, with team mate and title rival Wolfgang von Trips losing his life, along with scores of spectators, in the very same race. In this special episode of Beyond The Grid, Phil’s son Derek Hill tells Tom Clarkson how his father coped with both the win and the loss. He also describes in vivid detail his father’s beginnings as a mechanic and hot rod enthusiast in California, and how that led, via sportscar racing in the US, to an invitation to race in Europe for Enzo Ferrari. With fascinating insights into his father’s unique character, struggles with self-esteem and driving style, this is Phil Hill’s extraordinary F1 story.

147: America’s first F1 champion Phil Hill, as remembered by his son

His father is a tough act to follow, but Mick Schumacher is loving writing his own Formula 1 story. In his debut season he’s often out of the spotlight at the back of the grid, but he’s proving he’s got what it takes to compete with the front-runners. Mick tells Tom Clarkson about adjusting to life in F1, the lessons he’s still learning from his father’s career, and drops some hints about his future. Plus he takes us inside his F1 support system: he’s got Haas, Ferrari Driver Academy, Sebastian Vettel, his family - and his dog, Angie - cheering him on every lap of the way. This episode is sponsored by: Babbel  - go to uk.babbel.com/play and use the code GRID for an extra six months free

146: Mick Schumacher on improving as a driver, duelling with Verstappen and his F1 mentors

The story of how Michael Schumacher made his debut, 30 years ago this week in Belgium, could have been lifted from a Hollywood movie. The German rookie got his chance when Jordan’s regular driver Bertrand Gachot was dramatically sent to prison on the eve of the race – the rest, as they say, is history. But what of Gachot himself? This week the Luxembourg-born racer joins Tom to tell his incredible story – including the full, incredible story of how he ended up in prison, what life was like for an F1 driver behind bars, how he feels about Schumacher now, and how he got his career back on track after his release. This episode is sponsored by: Calm - go to calm.com/GRID for 40% off unlimited access to Calm’s entire library 

145: Bertrand Gachot – The driver whose prison sentence handed Schumacher his F1 debut

This week we welcome F1 royalty onto the show: Sir Patrick Head, co-founder of Williams and an engineering legend. After going into business with Frank Williams in the late 70s, Patrick helped build one of the greatest teams in history, his engineering acumen leading to world championships aplenty. He speaks about that journey, including what it was like to work with Frank, how he responded to Frank’s life-changing car accident, what he looked for in the drivers that shaped Williams and much more. And as you might expect, there are plenty of brilliant anecdotes! This episode is sponsored by: Babbel.com/play promo code GRID for 6 months free with a purchase of a 6 month subscription 

144: Sir Patrick Head looks back on a life at Williams

This week’s guest has spent 30 years in F1, working with some of the sport’s greatest drivers. As Driver Coach of Ferrari’s vaunted academy, Jock Clear’s job is to help the likes of Charles Leclerc and Mick Schumacher perform to the best of their ability – a role he’s performed with others before. Clear became widely known to many F1 fans as race engineer to Jacques Villeneuve at Williams in the late Nineties and then – surprisingly – as engineer to the man who famously ran into the Canadian in 1997, Michael Schumacher, when the German ace was at Mercedes. He also worked with and alongside the likes Rubens Barrichello, Nico Rosberg, and Jenson Button – and as a result has great stories and insight to offer about all of them!

143: Jock Clear on engineering Villeneuve and Schumacher, coaching Leclerc and developing Ferrari’s next generation

Nicholas Latifi always thought he’d follow his father into the world of business – but childhood karting and trips to the Canadian Grand Prix made him dream of racing in Formula 1. Chasing that dream meant leaving home to compete in Europe, and it’s a home he still misses at times. He earned his stripes in Formula 2 alongside Esteban Ocon and Alex Albon. His second season of Formula 1 has brought improved performances and his first World Championship points. He’s also closing in on Williams teammate George Russell in qualifying. Nicholas tells Tom Clarkson about his journey to F1, the importance of good team radio communication and why he can’t eat too much of his favourite chocolate spread… This episode is sponsored by:  Babbel.com/play promo code GRID for 6 months free with a purchase of a 6 month subscription  Calm.com/GRID for 40% off unlimited access to Calm’s entire library. 

142: Nicholas Latifi on chasing his childhood F1 dream, racing with Russell and more

Daniele Audetto was a key figure in arguably one of the most tumultuous and exciting seasons in F1 history: 1976. As team manager at Ferrari, he reported directly back to Enzo Ferrari from each race – and that included giving him the bad news when Niki Lauda was critically injured at the German Grand Prix. In this week’s show, 45 years on from that dreadful moment, Audetto recounts that weekend in detail, as well as Lauda’s heroic comeback and that tense title finale with James Hunt in Fuji. He also discusses life after Ferrari, and in particular his stints at Lamborghini – when Senna tested and nearly raced a Lambo-powered McLaren – and everyone’s favourite minnows, Super Aguri.

141: Ex-Ferrari manager Daniele Audetto remembers Niki Lauda’s fiery crash and famous comeback

This week’s guest may not be a household name, but for 20 years he was at the epicentre of Formula 1. Between the late 70s to early 90s, Peter Collins worked for Lotus under Colin Chapman, then Williams under Sir Frank, then Benetton alongside Flavio Briatore, before returning to run Lotus. In various managerial roles during that period he worked with some great drivers too: Keke Rosberg, Nigel Mansell, Gerhard Berger, Mika Hakkinen and Johnny Herbert. And the great news for us is that Peter has great anecdotes about all of them! So settle in for fabulous insight into a golden era of the sport – including the time he dispatched Hakkinen to do the school run… This episode is sponsored by:  SumUp 

140: Peter Collins on working under Colin Chapman, living with Hakkinen and running Benetton

Charles Leclerc returns to Beyond The Grid for a second time – and hasn’t a lot happened since his last visit? Charles last came on the show in 2018, when he was in his rookie season with Alfa Romeo Sauber but had just signed to race for Ferrari. Since then he’s become a superstar of the sport, winning races and taking brilliant poles, but also having to endure heart-breaking loss and team mate tension, amongst other things. He chats to Tom about all of the above and more, including what he likes to get up to away from the track, his relationships with new and former team mates Carlos Sainz and Sebastian Vettel, and how it has felt to race for Ferrari, in good times and bad… This episode is sponsored by:  SumUp  

139: Charles Leclerc on growing as a driver, committing to Ferrari and more

Beyond The Grid, presented by Bose, delivers great stories, fresh insight and amazing anecdotes from the world of F1. Each week Tom Clarkson brings you in-depth, personal conversations with the biggest names in the sport, from current superstar drivers and leading team bosses to legendary figures from history.

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F1: Beyond The Grid

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