The Autosport Podcast

The fourth episode in our new series of Top 10’s takes a look at the greatest F1 wet weather drives. Every great grand prix driver has at least one rite of passage in adverse weather, often several. For today’s podcast Kevin Turner has limited each driver to one appearance on the list, and the distinction to remember is that we’re not talking about which drivers perform best when the heavens open, but specific wet weather drives.   To discuss, we’re joined by motorsport journalist Damien Smith and your host Martyn Lee. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Whenever we see drivers climbing into the race seat of a brand new set of cars at the start of a new season, the atmosphere is filled with anticipation. And that’s the prospect this weekend. One of the most exciting weekends in motorsport this year, because the Daytona 24 hours marks the start of the new era. Last weekend saw Tom Blomqvist put his Meyer Shank Racing Acura ARX-06 LMDh car on pole in a last-gasp effort which set the scene for this weekend’s season opener, just 8 tenths separating the whole class, the competition is tight! The grid has so much to look out for. 9 of the new GTP class cars making a return to IMSA, 10 LMP2 entries, 9 LMP3’s, another 9 in GTD Pro, and 24 GTD cars on the grid. 61 cars in total.  Today we’ll ask: • Why we’re so excited about the new LMDh prototypes • What we can expect from Porsche, BMW, Cadillac and Acura • What drivers you should be watching this weekend Let's get up to speed with our sportscar man Gary Watkins. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastch

This week's podcast look at the 26 drivers who took a single world championship F1 win. Some of those drivers should have won many more races, while others got on the list through good fortune or an outstanding performance. Here is our pick of F1's top 10 one-hit wonders, based on their drives to victory, the circumstances of that success and their overall careers. We’re excluding those drivers who are still active in F1, so no Pierre Gasly, Esteban Ocon, Carlos Sainz or George Russell just yet. Joining us on the podcast to discuss the topic are Kevin Turner, Damien Smith and Haydn Cobb. Your host is Martyn Lee. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This weekend the World Rally Championship returns to legendary Monte Carlo. We have a record-breaking world champion, drivers in new teams, new management and the evolution of the Rally1 hybrid monsters. Fans know how good the sport is, but increasing social media coverage continues to spread rallying to new audiences. And because of all that, we’ve titled this podcast “Is WRC Motorsport’s Sleeping Giant?” Today we’ll ask:   ·     Can Hyundai pick up where they left off? ·     Will Kalle Rovanpera cope with the weight of being champion? ·     Do we have a true 3-way fight for the title in 2023?   Let's get up to speed with our rally man Tom Howard. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Autosport Podcast joins you today live from the Autosport International main stage at Birmingham's NEC. Autosport International was back for the first time since 2020 with over 100,000 expected through the doors, at our traditional kick-start to the motorsport calendar. Martyn Lee is joined on stage by Luke Smith, Alex Kalinauckas and Stuart Codling to discuss some of the recent new stories dominating Formula 1. Michael Andretti has publicly complained about the resistance of existing teams regarding his proposal to enter F1. What's the problem with welcoming extra cars on the grid? Or with the sports recent success, should they leave alone a winning formula? We also discuss the chances for Red Bull, given their cost cap punishment. Can Mercedes recover over the winter and challenge the champions? And what will Ferrari expect in 2023 under their new Team Principal Frédéric Vasseur. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The second episode in our new series of Top 10’s takes a look at the greatest F1 drivers who couldn’t clinch a drivers title. Chief Editor Kevin Turner leads the way, joined by motorsport journalist Damien Smith and Autosport.com Editor Haydn Cobb.  The show is hosted by Martyn Lee. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Formula E returns this weekend with new cars, new tech, new teams and drivers ready to race the fastest ever version of the electric machines.    In many ways it is a reboot for the ground-breaking series.    Just before Christmas we dispatched our Formula E man Jake Boxall-Legge to Valencia for the  pre-season test, to spy on this new generation.    Today we’ll ask:    • What’s so special about the Gen3 cars?  • Which drivers and teams you should look out for  • Is this the reset FE needs to step up into the motorsport mainstream?    Let's get up to speed with our expert Jake Boxall-Legge Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Season 3 Episode 1. Welcome back to the third series of our Top 10’s list curated by Chief Editor Kevin Turner.  Look out every weekend for a new episode. This series we’ll discuss topics such as the greatest drivers who never won the championship, one hit wonders, the worst cars to grace the grid and the best wet weather drives.  For the first show in this series, Kev has compiled the Top 10 F1 drivers never to have won a world championship race.   To debate the order of the list is motorsport journalist and former Autosport head honcho, Damian Smith. The show is hosted by Martyn Lee. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Emerson Fittipaldi won the Formula One World Championship driving for Lotus in 1972. He was 25 years old and became the youngest ever F1 champ. It was a record which held for an amazing 33 years until Fernando Alonso won with Renault in 2005. Today, we talk to our Chief Editor Kevin Turner about the story of that incredible year and how Fittipaldi stepped up to become champion. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Rally driver and Hoonigan founder, Ken Block, passed away yesterday following a snowmobile accident in Utah. He was 55 years old, and most famous for his Youtube series of daring stunt videos which have been watched over 650million times. His Hoonigan Racing Division described him as “a visionary, a pioneer and an icon and most importantly a father and husband who will be terribly missed.” Today we’ll look back at a life lived at full speed: We’ll hear from friends Petter and Oliver Solberg Explain how he entered the world of motorsport And look at the legacy he leaves behind Martyn Lee gets up to speed with our rally man Tom Howard Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Autosport's F1 experts return for the second part of our 2022 season review. Following our previous show, which focussed on the battle up front, this episode analyses action further down the grid. How did the best-of-the-rest battle work out with McLaren vs Alpine? Has Fernando Alonso made the correct decision to jump ship to Aston Martin? And why was the driver market so spectacular this year?  Luke Smith, Alex Kalinauckas and Matt Kew join Martyn Lee to conclude our look at the this year in Formula 1. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Join Autosport's F1 experts as they look back at the past 12 months of action. Luke Smith, Alex Kalinauckas and Matt Kew join Martyn Lee for the first of our two-part retrospective on 2022. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Merry Christmas from everyone here at Autosport. After you've tucked into your second helping of turkey and escaped the in-laws, pop in your headphones to play along with our festive podcast looking back at 2022. Question master Luke Smith tests the memory of our F1 experts, with events on and off track the subject of our Christmas quiz.  But can you do better than our editors? Luke is joined by Alex Kalinauckas, Matt Kew and Stuart Codling to recall the highs and lows of the 2022 F1 season. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Autosport Top 50 Drivers list is now in the 21st year of ranking the greatest drivers of the previous 12 months. Autosport’s correspondents travel the world to bring you the inside track from the worlds of Formula 1, World Rally Championship, MotoGP, Sportscars, GT Racing, Formula E, touring cars and more. At the end of every season we ask them to rank the drivers from the series they follow, and that’s now we start to compile Autosport’s overall list of top fifty. The 2022 list appears in the bumper holiday edition of Autosport magazine on 22 December  and on Autosport.com.  This week’s podcast reveals the secrets of how we rank drivers and compare them across various series. Martyn Lee is joined by Kevin Turner, James Newbold and Tom Howard to discuss the controversies and how some drivers get the nod over their rivals. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Formula 1’s driver market has it’s explosive moments this year, with Alonso, Piastri and Ricciardo dominating the headlines. But now it’s the turn of the team bosses. A breathless 24 hours has seen news from Ferrari, Alfa Romeo/Sauber/Audi, McLaren and Williams Today we’ll ask: Who’s out and who’s in What it means for next season, and years to come How these new appointees can impact their new teams Let's get up to speed with Autosport F1 Reporter Luke Smith Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

When Jenson Button won the 2009 F1 title he became the first of our Young Driver Award winners to do so. Zak O’Sullivan was the 2021 winner and was recently at Silverstone to get his first taste of F1 machinery with Aston Martin as part of his prize. This Sunday night, at the Autosport Awards,  the winner of the 2022 Aston Martin Autosport BRDC Young Driver of the Year will be announced.  On today’s podcast, Martyn Lee is joined by chief editor Kevin Turner to reveal exactly how to win the prestigious competition. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Ferrari Formula 1 team principal Mattia Binotto confirmed he’s leaving the team at the end of the year, after much speculation in recent weeks. Ferrari issued a statement earlier today confirming that it had accepted Binotto’s decision to leave. Today's podcast will ask:  •         was he ultimately pushed, or did he walk to enable him to go elsewhere? •         what does this mean for Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz in 2023? •         and why are observers saying management is Ferrari's Achilles heel? Let's get up to speed with Motorsport.com's F1 Editor Jonathan Noble. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Autosport's Luke Smith is at the Yas Marina circuit for Formula's post-season Pirelli tyre test. As well as fielding potential future F1 stars with their young drivers, teams were also allowed to use their 2023 contracted drivers to get them acquainted with their new cars, ahead of the single pre-season test next year. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

F1 2022 is over! Whilst Abu Dhabi wasn't the nailbiter we saw last year, there were still battles to be decided in the drivers and teams championships.    This weekend Sebastian Vettel ended his 299-race career with a celebration from everyone in the paddock, including a track run yesterday with Seb and the Autosport team (trying to keep up). Joining us from Abu Dhabi is Luke Smith and Jess McFadyen, alongside Kevin Turner and your host Martyn Lee. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Luke Smith and Alex Kalinauckas are heading home from the circuit after watching Saturday’s qualifying action, here to analyse how tomorrow’s grid came together. They were also joined by Matt Kew for a track run alongside Sebastien Vettel as the Aston Martin driver bids farewell to Formula 1. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices