The Autosport Podcast

The Autosport Podcast will bring you coverage of Formula 1 testing at the end of every day of track action. On today's podcast we're looking at the first day of testing (officially a shakedown) and how any fears about early reliability were quickly dispelled. Eight teams achieved over 100 laps as they executed their individual run plans with little drama and no red flags to interrupt sessions. Martyn Lee is joined by Jake Boxall-Legge (Technical Editor, Autosport) and Haydn Cobb (Autosport.com Editor) to talk about what it was like trackside, and also analyse some of the technical aspects of the Red Bull RB18 which made it's first real appearance today. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Today we're using the build up to the 2022 season to look back at who excelled last year, and therefore who we should be watching this year.  Settle in because this is a long one, with both Top 10 drivers argued out for British Touring Cars and the TOCA support series (Porsche Carrera Cup GB, Ginetta GT4 Supercup, Ginetta Junior, Mini Challenge and British Formula 4). We didn't rush this one out at the end of 2021 because so much of our time was spent with the incredibly late running F1 calendar, plus we knew that we had a healthy gap before these series started again. It's still around a month before we'll even see some F4 or Ginetta testing. And a couple of months before the opening round at Donington Park. Hosting todays podcast is Autosport's Chief Editor, Kevin Turner. He's joined by Marcus Simmons and Stephen Lickorish. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Later than originally planned, the Autosport Awards 2021 were presented on Sunday 6th February at London's Grosvenor House. On the podcast today we bring you highlights of the winners speeches and some of the stars we met on the red carpet. The categories, voted on by readers of Autosport magazine and autosport.com, are below:  Racing Driver of the Year presented by Pirelli Race Car of the Year presented by Blink Experience Rally Driver of the Year Rally Car of the Year Rookie of the Year British Racing Driver of the Year UK Racer of the Year Esports Driver of the Year presented by Motorsport Games Esports Team of the Year presented by Motorsport Games Pioneering and Innovation Award presented by Mahindra Gold Medal Award Aston Martin Autosport BRDC Young Driver Award Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Haas has become the first Formula 1 team to unveil its car livery and design for the 2022 season after releasing a series of renders on Friday. The Haas VF-22 car is the first produced by the American team out of its new design office in Maranello, and offers a sign of what the new cars will look like this year following the overhaul of the technical regulations. On the podcast today, Alex Kalinauckas is joined by Luke Smith and Jonathan Noble to discuss first impressions on the renders, and how Haas is changing the organisation to be more competitive in 2022. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Jake Boxall-Legge takes over the reins of our Formula E coverage for Season 8. Martyn Lee hosts alongside Matt Kew as we look at the action this weekend and Season 8 as a whole. How will qualifying changes affect the action? Which teams and drivers are the ones to watch? And we ask how Formula E can reach a wider audience as it heads towards the Gen3 era. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It's one month until Formula 1 reconvenes in Barcelona to run new cars for the first time, and we’re reconvening on the Autosport podcast to start our F1 technical coverage for the new season. After a short winter break, attention has turned from a controversial title-decider to how teams will have interpreted a new rule book. This year we’ll be talking about the Venturi effect, listed parts and wheel covers. The rule-makers have even mandated some open source parts which forces teams to upload their designs for anyone to see (because sharing is caring?). Our man who scours the technical regulations is Jake Boxall-Legge (Technical Editor, Autosport) and he tells us what fans should be looking for when cars roll out of the garage. GP Racing’s Ben Anderson looks at what the extra year of development time could mean and, whilst people assume we’ll see a convergence of performance, it might actually mean the top teams stretch their advantage. Any new set of rules have the potential to throw the form book ou

Tom Howard is back on the Gravel Notes podcast for a new season of WRC. Joining him on the shows is Martyn Lee to talk about the new Rally1 cars and championship battle with Ogier running a limited season. We also hear from Sebastien Ogier, Craig Breen, Oliver Solberg, Ott Tanak, Kalle Rovanpera and Elfyn Evans ahead of action starting later today. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week's Autosport celebrates many of motorsport’s wild and spectacular machines. We’ve selected some of the most outrageous and, in a few cases, ridiculous cars ever to go into competition for our Monsters of Motorsport special. It is a look at some of the cars that can impress and entertain even if they are going around a circuit (or rally stage) all on their own. We're joined today by a special guest too, as Mark Blundell recalls his monster pole lap at Le Mans, and some of the other machinery he's driven to the limit. Martyn Lee hosts alongside Marcus Simmons (Deputy Editor, Autosport) and Gary Watkins. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Between now and F1 pre-season testing, and for the first time ever, we've decided to bring you something different on the Autosport podcast.  Access to our subscriber only sction Autosport Plus. Autosport Plus give you access to enjoy exclusive long-reads, in depth analysis, technical insight and expert opinion.  Each week our editors will be hand picking some of the subscriber content for you to sample via the podcast. If you like it, I'll tell you how to get a massive 50% discount on membership at the end of the podcast, so stay tuned in to the end. Later, we'll talk about Juan Manuel Fangio, as Nigel Roebuck writes about what made him such a gentleman. But first, our Chief Editor Kevin Turner has picked out this article our subscribers first read last week - rating the best drivers of the century so far. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The second part of Autosport’s annual podcast review of the Formula 1 season is here.    In the second part of our season review, we tackle the races after the summer break and how we’re feeling about the events of Abu Dhabi, as the dust begins to settle. Martyn Lee (Head of Podcasts, Motorsport Network) is joined by Alex Kalinauckas (Grand Prix Editor, Autosport) and Luke Smith (F1 Reporter, Autosport). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Autosport’s annual podcast review of the year is finally here! Whilst recent headlines have been dominated by the drama in Abu Dhabi, the balance of power between Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton shifted many times throughout the season, and it was a year filled with storylines which deserve to be remembered. Today we go back to pre-season testing to remember what we learned even before the cars would race in Bahrain. With Ariana enjoying a well-earned break, Martyn Lee (Head of Podcasts, Motorsport Network) is joined by Alex Kalinauckas (Grand Prix Editor, Autosport) and Luke Smith (F1 Reporter, Autosport). In the first part of our retrospective we take you from early Mercedes dominance to a 32 point lead for Verstappen by the time teams left Austria, finishing with the first shoots of a Hamilton recovery heading into the summer break. With so much to discuss we split our season review podcasts into two parts. Look out for the concluding part on Monday 27th December. Learn more about your ad choices

Autosport’s Top 50 drivers of the year is our traditional list picking out the great and the good from the motorsport season just gone.    The 2021 Top 50 is the 20th edition and we’ve had the usual tough task of selecting the best performers across Formula 1, the World Rally Championship, Formula E, sportcar and GT racing, touring car series and many other categories.    The list appears in the 16 December issue of Autosport magazine and on Autosport.com, and the latest edition of the Autosport Podcast delves into how it was put together and covers the most controversial decisions.     The Top 50 always stirs debate among fans, drivers and even within the Autosport team itself.    How do you rate drivers in different cars, different series and at different points in their careers? Should standout moments mean more than consistency? And how far should controversial on-track moments count against a driver? All this and more are covered in this podcast special.    Chief Editor Kevin Turner hosts and is joined –

The UK's junior single-seater landscape is set to change for 2022, with new cars being introduced and even a new series launching next year. The GB3 Championship – which was previously known as British F3 until a mid-season name change enforced by the FIA – has bridged the gap between British F4 and FIA F3 for several years. It will introduce a new machine for its upcoming campaign, the Tatuus MSV-022, which will offer more power and downforce as well as the inclusion of a halo head-protection device. MotorSport Vision which runs the series has also announced a new championship for 2022 – the GB4 Championship – has been created as an entry-level into single-seaters and is open 15-year-olds. Autosport Deputy National Editor Stefan Mackley and Autosport National Editor Stephen Lickorish discuss the changes with the second part of a UK single-seater podcast special. They are joined by MSV CEO and ex-Formula 1 driver Jonathan Palmer to discuss both the new car and championship, as well as what it could mean

Our team were all in the paddock to witness the wild ending to an unforgettable 2021 season. Shortly after the FIA gave their verdict on the two protests which were lodged after the race, we tried to make sense of what happened, and congratulate our drivers championship winner. Ariana Bravo is joined by Jess McFadyen (Director of Digital Strategy, Motorsport Network) and Luke Smith (F1 Reporter, Autosport)  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Alex Kalinauckas (Grand Prix Editor, Autosport) is at the track alongside our host Ariana Bravo, as they reflect on a qualifying session which surprised many in the paddock, and look at some of the various scenarios which could play out on Sunday afternoon. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Jonathan Noble (F1 Editor, motorsport.com) is at the track alongside our host Ariana Bravo, to bring you a flavour of the atmosphere in the paddock and how the excitement is building for the championship battle. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

* No Spoilers* Ariana is already on her way to Abu Dhabi with the rest of the F1 team, so Jess McFadyen steps up to host today’s podcast alongside Luke Smith (F1 Reporter, Autosport) and Haydn Cobb (Editor, Autosport.com). Luke is fresh from the drivers interviews and tells us who-said-what after the chequered flag, whilst Haydn was on live commentary duty today and had to make sense of today’s chaotic scenes for those following along.  But can we make sense of it on the Autosport podcast? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Alex Kalinauckas (Grand Prix Editor, Autosport) is at the track with our host Ariana Bravo, and they’re taking stock of a thrilling qualifying session today, which threw another curveball at the championship battle. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Jonathan Noble (F1 Editor, motorsport.com) is at the track alongside our host Ariana Bravo, who are both experiencing the first running at the Jeddah Street Circuit.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The four finalists who will contest the 2021 Aston Martin Autosport BRDC Young Driver of the Year Award have been selected. Ollie Bearman, Jonny Edgar, Louis Foster and Zak O’Sullivan are the finalists. None have been in the Award before.   This week on the podcast we're talking to each driver individually, and hearing about their story so far.    Previous winners include 2009 F1 world champion Jenson Button, 13-time grand prix winner David Coulthard, current F1 drivers Lando Norris and George Russell, triple Indianapolis 500 winner Dario Franchitti, and 2014 World Endurance champion Anthony Davidson.   Today we're talking to Zak O'Sullivan. O’Sullivan has been the driver to beat in GB3 this year. The 16-year-old continued the impressive form from his first single-seater campaign last season, when he came oh-so-close to securing the British F4 crown. He seems set to make up for that disappointment this year, as he comfortably tops the points ahead of the finale. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podca