The Autosport F1 Podcast

Karun Chandhok is your guide to the key issues this season. He answers your questions like: Can anyone stop the Mercedes steamroller? Should Hamilton retire at the end of 2021? Why was Perez the right choice for Red Bull? What does the future hold for Alex Albon? Can Carlos Sainz Jr thrive at Ferrari? What's the ideal amount of races in a Formula 1 season? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Red Bull has become the latest Formula 1 team to show off its 2021 car, which is the RB16B. It’s an updated version of the car that won twice last year, but had various problems that prevented it getting closer to Mercedes overall. Alex Kalinauckas (Grand Prix Editor, Autosport) is joined by Jonathan Noble (F1 Editor, Motorsport.com), Luke Smith (F1 Reporter, Autosport) and Jake Boxall-Legge (Technical Editor, Autosport) to go over what we learned from the Red Bull reveal today. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week we assess the greatest Mercedes grand prix cars, including a rare entry which has a 100% win record! First, a caveat, the cars we're talking about include those which pre-date the F1 championship. As a full works entry in Formula One, Mercedes-Benz might have only entered for two stints, but has dominated both times. Plus we take on two more topics covered in the 11th Feb issue of Autosport magazine. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Earlier today McLaren Racing unveiled the MCL35M, their 2021 challenger which will be driven by Lando Norris and new signing Daniel Ricciardo. After finishing third in the 2020 constructors championship, the team move to a Mercedes power unit. Alex Kalinauckas hears from Jake Boxall-Legge (Technical Editor, Autosport) about his first impressions and key areas on the car to look at. Before the car launch, Autosport's Luke Smith and Jonathan Noble (F1 Editor, Motorsport.com) sat down for a virtual chat with both drivers and team management, and they join us on the podcast to talk about McLaren's chances of moving up the grid in 2021 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It has been another busy week of F1 news as we count down to the 2021 season. On today's podcast we've got news on the F1 Commission proposing an engine freeze from 2022 to 2024. F1 also wants to experiment with sprint races in Canada, Italy and Brazil this year. It would mean qualifying moves to Friday, with Saturday's running being a 100km sprint race, which then defines the starting grid for Sunday's Grand Prix. Finally we discuss the latest news of Fernando Alonso's cycling accident and whether surgery this week will impact his return to F1. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week we look into the reviving fortunes of a fallen F1 giant - McLaren Racing. But is it still a sleeping giant? They have consistently improved their results since finishing 9th in 2017 (with Honda power) to third in the constructors table in their final year with Renault. In 2021 McLaren will compete again with Mercedes power units and a new driver in Daniel Ricciardo. What do they have to do to get back on the top step of the podium? Can anyone beat Mercedes whilst being a customer? Perhaps, after all McLaren beat their engine supplier Renault in 2020. We sat down with Zak Brown (Chief Executive, McLaren Racing) to talk about how he's rebuilding McLaren. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The development Formula One has long been waiting for finally occurred on Monday morning when Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team announced that seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton will be staying with the team for 2021. The one year deal was a surprising development and creates a blockbuster driver market for 2022, with all three Mercedes contracted drivers (Hamilton plus Bottas and Russell) coming to the end of their respective 2021 deals. On this edition of the podcast we dissect the details of Hamilton's new deal, as well as asking what it means for his future and the team. Joining Alex Kalinauckas (Grand Prix Editor, Autosport) today is Jonathan Noble (F1 Editor, Motorsport.com) and Luke Smith (F1 Reporter, Autosport). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Shortly after Jonathan Noble finished speaking to Formula 1 CEO Stefano Domenicali, he sat down with Alex and Luke around the virtual podcast table to discuss the call. Formula 1's new boss is considering whether a Saturday sprint race could be introduced to freshen up the weekend. He also confirmed that the proposed reverse grids idea is off the table: "Reverse grid is over. That's something I can tell you." Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Williams Racing has fallen far from its heights as one of the championship supersquads, and it has regularly pledged its determination to re-tread old ground further up the grid. That tale will be familiar to F1 fans as the team has yet to recapture any of its old gory, but there were signs from the 2020 season that Williams has finally turned the corner and its revival is really on. This week on the podcast we look forward at how they plan to move up the grid, and we look back by ranking the top 10 Williams F1 cars. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week James Allison (Technical Director, Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team) opened up on why the team fear they could trip up with the rule changes for 2021. Is it a bluff? Or perhaps an insight into mindset of a team so used to winning? Also this week, Carlos Sainz Jr said his first appearance in a Ferrari is "a day I will never forget". What did our own Jonathan Noble make of his first 100 laps in a Ferrari? And finally we hear from McLaren about how the majority of their 2021 chassis is brand new because of their move to Mercedes-Benz power. Production Director Piers Thynne told the McLaren website: "Whereas every other team will carry over most of its car from last year into this year, our switch to the Mercedes power unit means that's not the case for us. It's driven a huge amount of change and, essentially, we've been building a new car. The number of new parts on the MCL35M is about the same as when we built the MCL35." Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices