F1 Beyond The Grid

On the eve of the 2009 F1 season, Jenson Button and Brawn GP shocked the sport. The team, which barely survived the previous winter after the withdrawal of owners Honda, arrived at the final pre-season test with a car that had never been driven at full racing speed before. Immediately, it was fastest of all. Jenson Button told Tom Clarkson about that test day, and why dominating the early stages of the 2009 season felt far from easy. You can listen to the full BTG interview with Jenson Button here.  New episodes of F1 Beyond The Grid start Wednesday March 1st. Get the latest from pre-season testing on F1.com, the F1 app and F1 on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and TikTok.

24 years ago, the original “Flying Finn” became a two-time F1 World Champion. That puts Mika Hakkinen in an exclusive club of just 11 drivers who have won F1 titles in consecutive years, which also includes Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton. In this feature-length interview from the BTG archive, Mika tells Tom Clarkson about recovering from a serious crash to take on Michael Schumacher and win back-to-back championships with McLaren in 1998 and 1999. New episodes of F1 Beyond The Grid begin Wednesday March 1st.  Follow the podcast on your player for in-depth interviews with F1’s biggest stars every week. This episode is sponsored by:  ExpressVPN: go to expressvpn.com/GRID today and get an extra three months free on a one-year package. F1 TV: F1 are offering fans 20% off their annual F1 TV Pro Subscriptions, simply go to F1TV.com to sign-up. Offer automatically updates at check out. F1 TV Pro is only available in select territories, check the website for more details Shopify: sign up for a one-dollar-per-month trial period at shopify.com/beyondthegrid

Who has won more F1 world titles than Lewis Hamilton and Michael Schumacher combined? Aldo Costa. The Italian engineer’s work has helped Ferrari, Mercedes and their drivers win a total of 26 World Championships. That makes him a good person to talk to about winning, dealing with pressure and why it’s important to allow engineers to try, fail, and try again. Tom Clarkson is picking archive highlights in the build-up up to the new season of F1 Beyond The Grid. Follow the podcast and look out for a brand new episode on Wednesday March 1st. To hear more winning secrets and stories from Aldo Costa, tap here 

F1 loves Japan: the passionate fans, the stunning racetracks, and the exciting drivers. Yuki Tsunoda wants to be his country’s first F1 winner. In this clip, recorded during Yuki’s rookie season in 2021, he told Tom Clarkson about his love of Tokyo and how former Japanese racers have helped him in his career. Yuki talks food, swearing and friendships in the full interview. Listen right here. 

A straight-talking, no nonsense, modern F1 legend Kimi Raikkonen became World Champion doing things his way. Before his final Grand Prix in 2021, Kimi told Tom Clarkson about his first drive in a Formula 1 car and whether age slowed him down. Look out for another archive highlight tomorrow. A brand-new episode of F1 Beyond The Grid will be with you on Wednesday March 1st. Kimi’s full, rare, in-depth interview is a must-listen. Hear it here. 

By age 2, Kevin Magnussen was already driving. What else do you expect from the child of an F1 driver? In this clip from 2019, Kevin tells Tom Clarkson how his racing career was inspired by his father Jan – a former McLaren driver – and encouraged by his mother, Britt. Follow F1 Beyond The Grid for daily archive clips in the build up to a brand-new episode on Wednesday March 1st. Want more Magnussen? Kevin’s 2019 BTG appearance is here.  His 2022 interview can be heard here 

The Hulk is back in Formula 1, and he’s hunting a first podium finish. Revisit Nico’s 2019 interview on times a top three finish narrowly eluded him and his love of classic road cars. Tom Clarkson is choosing 30 highlights from the BTG archive in the run-up to brand new episodes, starting Wednesday March 1st. To get to know Nico before his F1 return, listen to his full BTG interview here 

As Alpine unveil their car for the 2023 F1 season, enjoy an all-time favourite Beyond The Grid story from Esteban Ocon. In 2018 he told Tom Clarkson how his family sold their property to help his race towards Formula 1. 30 Days of BTG is building up to the first new episode of 2023 on Wednesday March 1st. To hear the full 2018 interview with Esteban, listen here. You can listen to his second BTG appearance from 2022 here. 

He seemed destined to drive for Mercedes, but first George Russell had to prove himself at Williams. This is an in-depth conversation recorded in 2020, Russell’s second F1 season. He told Tom Clarkson how he first caught the eye of the Mercedes Young Driver Programme and how he introduced himself to Team Principal Toto Wolff. Plus, racing against friends, karting memories and how sim-racing kept him sharp when Covid 19 delayed the start of the season.  F1 Beyond The Grid’s 30 Day pre-season series continues tomorrow. Follow the podcast so you don’t miss our next highlight from the archive. New weekly episodes start on Wednesday March 1st. George made a second appearance on F1 Beyond The Grid in 2022. You can listen to that here 

On the day Ferrari launch their 2023 F1 car, hear how Charles Leclerc followed his father into motorsport.  Charles told Tom Clarkson about racing and winning in Formula 2 on the weekend his father died, and how he races on to honour him. For the full 2018 interview with Charles, recorded before he joined Ferrari, head here  30 Days of BTG continues tomorrow with a full episode from the archive. Season 6 starts on Wednesday March 1st.