The Autosport F1 Podcast

Since Sebastian Vettel announced his retirement the driver market has moved at breakneck pace. Fernando Alonso was confirmed for a place at Aston Martin in 2023, which should have opened the door for an Alpine race seat for Formula 2 champ Oscar Piastri. However a bizarre set of public announcements saw the team confirm Piastri for '23, only for the driver to respond on social media saying he will not race at Alpine. Joining Martyn Lee to discuss all news and possible implications are Matt Kew, Alex Kalinauckas and Luke Smith. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Formula 1 heads into the Summer break with it’s reigning champ and title favourite eighty points ahead of his main rival. Max Verstappen started tenth, carved his way through the field, Red Bull strategists made bold calls and the RFB18 was the class of the pack. Once again we saw both Mercedes on the podium, in a boost to the team before the summer break. And once again, we saw the Ferrari pit wall make questionable calls which put their drivers on the back foot. Joining Martyn Lee to discuss today’s grand prix are Luke Smith, Jess McFadyen and Kevin Turner. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Luke Smith and Matt Kew are back from watching an exciting qualifying session for the Hungarian Grand Prix, where Mercedes driver George Russell pulled off a shock result to head the pack into Sunday's grand prix. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Alex Kalinauckas and Kevin Turner join Martyn Lee to talk about yesterday's shock retirement announcement from Sebastian Vettel. We discuss why he chose now to call it a day, and what role Aston Martin's current performance played, if at all. We also talk about who might replace him, whether that be a star name or a rookie, and we end with a look back at Vettel's career and the impact he made on Formula 1. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Martyn Lee is joined by Luke Smith in France, plus Jess McFadyen and Matt Kew to review the French Grand Prix at Paul Ricard, and ask if we were denied a championship fight at the front. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Luke Smith and Alex Kalinauckas are at Paul Ricard and witnessed a thrilling qualifying session where the fastest laps swapped between this years title protagonists. Red Bull’s race pace was a step behind Ferrari last time out in Austria, but can they set up the RB18 to fight back and win again here in France? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Martyn Lee and Jake Boxall-Legge look back at both practice sessions for the 2022 French Grand Prix, as Ferrari and Red Bull resume battle. Max Verstappen excelled in qualifying in 2021 to take pole and executed a bold two-stop strategy to beat Lewis Hamilton at this event last year, but can he repeat that feat over a resurgent Ferrari team? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Kalle Rovanpera clinched a fifth win from seven World Rally Championship rounds with a masterclass display to defeat Toyota team-mate Elfyn Evans at Rally Estonia. The WRC championship leader produced yet another stunning performance, despite starting first on the road in changeable weather conditions, to beat Evans by 1m00.9s on Estonia’s fast gravel roads.  Martyn Lee is joined by Tom Howard to discuss all the action, and we hear from the top three of Rovanpera, Evans and Tanak. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Round 7 of the World Rally Championship in Estonia kicks off tomorrow just after 6:30pm UK, and Martyn Lee is joined by Tom Howard to preview the action. Safari Rally Kenya was a car-breaker with harsh conditions hurting many teams and drivers, whilst 2022's sensation Kalle Rovanpera dominated from first on the road. Can home hero Ott Tanak fight back at an event he has won multiple times, and will Toyota's upgrade package be another blow for the teams playing catch up? On the podcast today, Tom is joined by M-Sport Team principal Richard Millener, reflecting on Safari and looking to Estonia. We'll hear about their solutions to reliability issues and how he is expecting Craig Breen to deliver in Estonia.  Tom has also spoken with Hyundai Deputy team director Julien Moncet about the parts shortages causing a supply "nightmare". Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Martyn Lee is joined by Alex Kalinauckas, Jess McFadyen and Megan White to analyse how the Ferrari pace was different between the Sprint and the Grand Prix. Max Verstappen came home second as Charles Leclerc ended his barron run of races to win from second on the grid. Carlos Sainz escaped unharmed from a fast-spreading fire as he pulled off the track but couldn’t jump out until help arrived because of the pitch of the service road. And we talk about Mick Schumacher who won driver of the day for his best finish in Formula 1 so far with sixth place, behind Lewis Hamilton (3rd) , George Russell (4th) and Esteban Ocon (5th). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices