October's edition of GP Racing features a rejuvinated Sebastian Vettel on the front cover and looks at how he fits into Lawrence Stroll's ambitious plan to make Aston Martin a winning team. Flat Chat podcast host Stuart Codling is joined by Mark Gallagher and Ben Anderson (Editor, GP Racing) to discuss how the Silverstone team is transforming itself with a series of high-profile recruitments and investment into long term success. Also on the podcast today we discuss Formula 1's return to Zandvoort. GP Racing's principal photographer returns to the Dutch dunes for the first time in 36 years. Damien Smith speaks to one of the makers of the Schumacher Netflix documentary, and with Qatar added to the calendar F1 once again navigates the moral maze of racing in a controversial location.

Flat Chat with Codders by F1 Racing

30: Green Means Go: Inside Vettel's Aston Adventure

It’s 30 years since Michael Schumacher left an indelible calling card on the Formula 1 scene at the 1991 Belgian Grand Prix, qualifying seventh at a track he’d only previously lapped on a bicycle. And he did it with a minnow start-up team on the verge of collapsing under its debts.  This month’s GP Racing, on sale today, celebrates the 30th anniversary of Schumacher’s explosive debut and features an exclusive behind-the-scenes view of the weekend with insight from Michael’s race engineer, Trevor Foster. Author and GP Racing columnist Mark Gallagher was the Jordan team’s press officer at the time, and he joins Flat Chat podcast host Stuart Codling and GP Racing editor Ben Anderson to wind the clock back to that stunning weekend in August 1991.  It’s hard to believe that the future seven-time world champion was seen as an inexperienced pay driver at the time. But Jordan had a seat to fill and bills to pay. As Mark relates, he himself didn’t see any money until after the end of the season – and only then after Eddie Jordan tried to invoice him for food consumed during the year…  Schumacher quickly found performance in the Jordan 191 car which the incumbent drivers hadn’t been able to access – much to the chagrin of Andrea de Cesaris, who became convinced there was something wrong with his own car. Exactly how Schumacher managed to break his clutch on the opening lap, and how De Cesaris came close to catching Ayrton Senna’s McLaren for the lead before suffering an engine blow-up, have never been fully explained until now.  The Flat Chat panel also looks at the parallel-but-often-separate career of Mika Hakkinen who, like Schumacher, made his F1 debut in 1991. Mika’s rivalry with Michael began in F3 but would in effect go on hiatus for several years as Hakkinen laboured in back-of-the-grid cars and then broke his neck in qualifying for the 1995 Australian Grand Prix.  Once installed in competitive machinery Hakkinen shone, and his rivalry with Schumacher defined an era – until he suddenly decided to quit. How much of that was prompted by fear of further injury, how much by the draining effect of fighting for championships with one of the greatest drivers of all time? 

29: The Untold Story of Michael Schumacher's F1 Debut

Why has Carlos Sainz thrived while the other high-profile drivers to have swapped teams this F1 season have struggled? And how has he managed to fit straight in to a Ferrari team which is traditionally difficult political territory, especially when under pressure?    These are just a few of the angles covered in a frank and exclusive interview with Sainz in this month’s GP Racing magazine.    An exclusive interview with Sainz is the centrepiece of this month’s GP Racing magazine. In the latest edition of the Flat Chat podcast, GP Racing editor Ben Anderson and columnist Mark Gallagher join host Stuart Codling to discuss Sainz’s remarkable journey, and what Sainz describes as his “process”. The interview reveals a driver who has never relied on raw talent alone, but who has worked and fought for every break he’s had.   There’s also been evidence of a cultural change within Ferrari, one which is enabling the team to rediscover its form after years of underachievement. Our panel reckons Sainz and Charles Leclerc add up to the strongest driver partnership in Formula 1: if Ferrari can get on par with Mercedes and Red Bull’s car technology and race operations, championships beckon…   This month’s GP Racing also includes exclusive insight into the technical woes Mercedes has been battling with this season, and the innovative technologies which have enabled Red Bull and Honda to unlock latent potential within their hybrid power unit. Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff says his outfit won’t “resign” the season, despite turning off the development taps and applying a final upgrade package at Silverstone. It’s managed to nose ahead in the drivers’ and constructors’ championships but, with Red Bull still bringing vans full of upgrades to each round, can its resistance last?   Also on the cover of GP Racing there’s an exclusive interview with Esteban Ocon, who has rewarded Alpine’s faith in him – that is, a freshly minted three-year contract – with a smoothly executed if circumstance-assisted victory in Hungary. What convinced him to throw over a chance to bid for the second seat at Mercedes to stay with Alpine – and what had he done to impress Alpine so much in the months before that sensational win?

28: Carlos Sainz: Living His Dream With F1's Greatest Team

In the July edition of the podcast it's our Silverstone special. Stuart Codling is joined by Ben Anderson and Mark Gallagher to look at the season so far for Lewis, Lando and George. The July issue of GP Racing is out now and you can get it here: https://www.gpracing.magazine.co.uk/ 

27: Silverstone Special: Formula 1's Coming Home

As the latest issue of GP Racing magazine hits the shelves, we congratulate ourselves on the serendipitous timing of putting Sergio Perez on the cover.  Ben had an exclusive interview with Perez and this is the result. It’s even more interesting to read in the context of his win last weekend because he talks pretty frankly about how he’s struggled to adapt to the car, but he was aware that was the only way he was going to succeed because the team weren’t going to adapt the car to suit him.   Codders is joined by Ben Anderson and Mark Gallagher to talk about how Perez has settled in to Red Bull Racing, how F1 teams are coping with the budget cap and we pay tribute to Max Mosley.

26: Sergio Perez Steps Up

What does Valtteri Bottas need to do to achieve his ambition of beating Mercedes team-mate Lewis Hamilton to the F1 world championship? An exclusive and extraordinarily frank interview with Bottas is the cover feature of this month’s GP Racing magazine.  Perhaps it’s time for Bottas to consider the long game and explore opportunities elsewhere – at teams which would jump at the chance to learn the secrets of what makes the Mercedes team such an unstoppable winning machine. This month’s GP Racing also examines Aston Martin’s threats to take legal action against the FIA over the new F1 floor regulations. Has the team really been collateral in an attempt to hobble Mercedes, or is it simply too early to say definitively what effects the recent changes have had on individual cars?  The evidence from the early rounds suggests the changes have compressed the midfield and one driver thriving at the moment is Pierre Gasly, interviewed exclusively in this month’s GP Racing. By developing the car to suit Gasly’s strengths rather than expecting him to adapt his style to suit the car, AlphaTauri has taken its performance to another level. But what of the driver in the other car? Yuki Tsunoda’s halo seems to have slipped recently… 

25: Valtteri Bottas: Our Exclusive Interview For The May Edition

As the latest edition of GP Racing hits the shelves of shops that are now actually open, we look at what’s really going on with Lewis Hamilton’s new contract. We speak to George Russell, the man who might become Lewis’s next team-mate… or Valtteri Bottas’s new team-mate! And we speak to Daniel Ricciardo, the man of the moment at McLaren. GP Racing editor Ben Anderson and columnist Mark Gallagher join Executive Editor Stuart Codling to debate what happens next with Lewis Hamilton. Both Lewis and Mercedes have claimed that they’re happy with the present arrangement, which is a one-year extension and a plan to get around the table sooner rather than later. But are they really happy? We’ve also spoken to Daniel Ricciardo for this month’s issue. The partnership between him and McLaren feels like something that’s been waiting to happen for some time. He even bought a McLaren road car while he was still driving for Red Bull and he describes his clandestine visit to the McLaren factory in the piece. There’s plenty more in this month’s GP Racing, including Mark’s superbly crafted and suitably flat out tribute to Murray Walker. And because there’s no such thing as too many pictures of old buses being converted as F1 car transporters, there’s a new multi-part story covering the history of Lotus. We also have some lovely close-up photography of the notorious Brabham ‘Fan Car’. Remember it was never banned!

24: The Truth About Lewis Hamilton and THAT New Contract

Formula 1 bursts back into action next weekend, and the latest Flat Chat podcast from GP Racing magazine digs into what’s likely to be an unexpectedly spicy season. GP Racing editor Ben Anderson and columnist Mark Gallagher join host Stuart Codling to debate whether Red Bull’s punchy performance during the Bahrain test is all that it seems. Is Mercedes really on the back foot? What version of Valtteri Bottas are we on? Can new Red Bull recruit Sergio Perez succeed where Max Verstappen’s most recent team-mates have failed? And will Honda finally win a world championship while still in it? This month’s GP Racing also analyses what’s going on in a midfield that’s been subject to remarkable change, with two teams rolling out entire new identities. Having compared Aston Martin’s launch with the infamous 1989 Brit Awards, our panel wonders whether the rebranded team will deliver a better script once it hits the track in anger. After the first test that’s still very much open to question… In the magazine Mark Gallagher describes Alpine’s plan for the next few seasons as Lazarus, The Repair Shop and Spartacus all rolled into one. New recruit Davide Brivio will be key to ensuring this happens on-track and our panel assesses how he will fit in with a long-established technical operation at Enstone and the expectations of the team’s returning star Fernando Alonso. The team also share some personal recollections of the late Murray Walker, a longtime friend of the magazine as well as an occasional cover star – and a much-loved columnist until he finally set aside his typewriter at the age of 92.

23: GP Racing’s 2021 F1 preview

‘Flat Chat’ is back for February alongside a new edition of GP Racing magazine. Stuart Codling is joined by Ben Anderson and Mark Gallagher to talk about how F1 performed a staggering feat of financial engineering to survive in 2020. What is Jenson Button’s actual role at Williams? What is McLaren’s connection with Jerry Maguire? And why has the newly rebranded Alpine team ejected longtime leader Cyril Abiteboul? This month’s GP Racing also delves into what makes the top four drivers on the grid so much better – and what sets them apart from what is already an elite group. Why has Fernando Alonso made the cut when younger stars such as Daniel Ricciardo haven’t?

F1 vs Covid - We Count The Cost

In the January issue of GP Racing, our cover star is George Russell, and a remarkable series of events ensued in the weeks after we made the decision to focus on him. No sooner had Luke Smith’s elegantly crafted cover feature landed in the inbox than George found himself shoehorned into the cockpit of Lewis Hamilton’s Mercedes. So it’s a victory for the editorial crystal ball. The question is, can George Russell take over when Lewis finally decides to retire. Also this week: The pandemic laid bare a lot of structural weaknesses within F1 and a lot of teams hit financial trouble. You wouldn’t have expected McLaren to be among them. When the season actually got going, they were remarkably competitive and they’ve done a great job to finish third in the constructors’ championship. We’ve taken a look at their journey courtesy of an exclusive interview with Andreas Seidl.

How Close Is George Russell To A Mercedes Seat?

‘Flat Chat’ is back for December alongside a new edition of GP Racing magazine. Stuart Codling is joined by Ben Anderson and Mark Gallagher to talk about our extensive one-on-one interview with 7-time World Champion Lewis Hamilton. As the most successful grand prix driver of all time, he’s eager to talk about the responsibility he feels to use his in influence for positive change. We ask how the Mercedes-AMG F1 W11 became the fastest GP (lapping Monza at 164mph) and whether it was Ferrari’s ‘fault’ for pushing them so hard last year. Plus, we talk with Pierre Gasly about his future, whether it will be with Red Bull, and what options Christian Horner could pick.

One on One with Lewis Hamilton

‘Flat Chat’ is back for November alongside a new edition of GP Racing magazine. Stuart Codling is joined by Ben Anderson and Mark Gallagher to ask if Sebastian Vettel can propel the new Aston Martin towards the front of the grid. We look into Renault’s on-track renaissance. A timely feature because immediately after we’d written and designed it, Daniel Ricciardo scored Renault’s first podium since its return as a manufacturer in 2016. We talk about McLaren’s plans to sell and then lease back its factory. And we interview Kimi Raikkonen, who has now started more grands prix than anybody else. Spoilers: he’s not impressed.Subscribe to the world's best grand prix magazine now and save up to 66%. Also get access to Autosport Plus with unlimited stories online. https://www.autosportmedia.com/offer/GP-Racing

Pretty In Pink - Can Vettel take Racing Point to the next level?

‘Flat Chat’ is back for October alongside a new edition of GP Racing magazine. Stuart Codling is joined by Ben Anderson and Mark Gallagher to ask if Max Verstappen can still break records in Formula 1, or if time is starting to run out on those 'youngest ever' accolades. We look at customer teams and the battle for Formula 1's soul. Can a customer team ever win the World Championship? And as the Williams family bows out of Formula 1, we explain why there should be no sadness around their incredible journey.Subscribe to the world's best grand prix magazine now and save up to 66%. Also get access to Autosport Plus with unlimited stories online. https://www.autosportmedia.com/offer/GP-Racing

Max Verstappen's Date With Destiny

‘Flat Chat’ is back for September alongside a new edition of GP Racing magazine. Stuart Codling is joined by Ben Anderson and Mark Gallagher to dig into why Fernando Alonso and Renault decided to get hitched for the third time. They look at the future for Racing Point as it becomes Aston Martin in 2021. And finally Carlos Sainz explains what's it's like racing a full season with a team you are leaving.Subscribe to the world's best grand prix magazine now and save up to 66%. Also get access to Autosport Plus with unlimited stories online. https://www.autosportmedia.com/offer/GP-Racing

Friends Reunited - Why Alonso and Renault Got Back Together

Flat Chat is back for August alongside a new edition of GP Racing magazine. Stuart Codling is joined by Ben Anderson and Mark Gallagher to investigate how Lewis Hamilton is using his global profile to campaign on the vital social issues of diversity and racial equality. Also on the show this month (and in the GP Racing magazine) we give you a glimpse into life inside F1's bubble. Plus we talk to Cyril Abiteboul and asking if Fernando Alonso can put Renault at the front of the grid. Subscribe to the world's best grand prix magazine now and save up to 66%. Also get access to Autosport Plus with unlimited stories online. https://www.autosportmedia.com/offer/GP-Racing

Fighting The Good Fight - Lewis Hamilton's Quest To Change Formula 1

Join Codders, Ben Anderson and Mark Gallagher as they lift the lid on the world of Formula 1.F1 Racing is the world's best-selling F1 magazine, with stunning photography, expert analysis, unrivalled journalism and exclusive behind-the-scenes access to the glamorous and adrenaline-fuelled world of Formula 1.

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Flat Chat with Codders by F1 Racing

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