The Autosport Podcast

Alex Kalinauckas and Mark Mann-Bryans discuss the United States Grand Prix from the track itself as Ferrari would dominate proceedings with a 1-2 finish, with Charles Leclerc taking his third win of the 2024 season. Alex talks in-depth about the main story of the race, the controversial five-second time penalty that dropped Lando Norris off the podium and behind his title rival Max Verstappen, as the reigning World Champion went off the track to try and defend his position. Alex ponders whether Max's tactics are shades of his title fight in 2021 with Lewis Hamilton, what the stewards can do to stop it, and whether it's hurting the racing product in real-time. There's also a deep dive on Mercedes after George Russell went from the pitlane to sixth, Hamilton's disastrous weekend ending with him spinning into the wall, and a brief look ahead to next weekend's Mexican Grand Prix. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Jon Noble and Mark Mann-Bryans sit down to review all of Saturday's action from the United States GP in Austin, Texas. In the morning, Max Verstappen dominated the Sprint to win his first race of any kind since the Spanish Grand Prix in June, pulling away from a scrappy Carlos Sainz and Lando Norris in third. There's also a discussion on a rough day for Mercedes, as George Russell's tyres fell apart in the Sprint, swiftly followed by a crash at Turn 19 on his final qualifying lap, with teammate Lewis Hamilton being eliminated in Q1. Also featured, Lando Norris taking his fourth pole position, the FIA ending its look at Red Bull's Bib height adjuster, and the growing tension between Liam Lawson and Fernando Alonso on track. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Jon Noble and Alex Kalinauckas report live from the paddock for a review of Friday's action from Austin, Texas. The war of words continued between McLaren and Red Bull team bosses Zak Brown and Christian Horner, with Brown calling for a deeper investigation into the Bull's "Bib" device, despite the FIA calling it a "non-story", as Horner claims Brown's starting a fire in someone else's house... Meanwhile on the track, Max Verstappen captured his first pole of any kind since June as he beat George Russell to Sprint Pole by just 12 thousandths of a second. The duo talk about where Max's pole was won, whether Red Bull has caught up to McLaren's speed, and where an upgraded Mercedes factors into the fight. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Across all four days of the Grand Prix, we'll be releasing audio straight from our journalists at the track! Alex Kalinauckas and Jon Noble report from media day at the United States Grand Prix, discussing the news that Red Bull had to disclose to the FIA that they had a device on their car that raised the height of their front Bib, how the Red Bull drivers and rival Oscar Piastri felt about it, as well as what the FIA will do about it going forward. There's also discussion about the World Motorsport Council's latest meeting and the reveal that the fastest lap bonus point is being removed from the sport in 2025. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Dre Harrison introduces the final episode of our Super Touring Power 2 mini-series, featuring the best of the celebration of the greatest era of Touring Car racing. Joining our own Marcus Simmons for our fourth and final sit-down interview are two more great names of the series - Patrick Watts and Jeff Allan. They share the great memories of the BTCC’s massive growth in the 90’s, how the Super Touring era influenced over Touring Car series around the world like Australia, and how Jeff very nearly ended up driving for the great Andy Rouse. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

After another four-week break, the run-in for the 2024 Formula One World Championship starts this weekend with Round 19 - The United States Grand Prix from Austin, Texas. Alex Kalinauckas and Ben Hunt join Bryn Lucas from the Autosport Podcast studio and together they catch up on all the autumnal news before previewing the race itself. Last week we found out that Haas and Toyota have formed a new technical partnership, the Japanese manufacturers' first presence in the sport since 2009 as they "share resources" with the American-British team. Alex goes into detail as to what the relationship entails, and whether it's the first step for a full-bodied return for Toyota. There's also a discussion on Alpine's future in the sport as the French team confirmed they'll be ceasing to build F1 power units when the regulations change in 2026 and whether Mick Schumacher is a late contender for what could be 2025's final remaining seat at Sauber. And of course, there's a preview on COTA, with a newly repaved surface set

Dre Harrison introduces Episode 3 of our mini-series on Super Touring Power 2, the event that celebrated the golden age of Super Touring racing in the UK. In this episode, it’s a special celebration chat with RML Racing, Super Touring’s most successful team, on the brink of their 40th Anniversary. Joining Kevin Turner on stage was the man himself Ray Mallock and two of his Championship-winning drivers - Double BTCC Champion John Cleland of 1989 and 1995, and Laurent Aiello, Champion of 1999. There’s discussion on the incredibly successful Vauxhall Cavalier and Nissan Primera, the cars they won their respective Championships with, the key people behind RML’s success, like the late David Leslie and engineer Phil Barker, what Mallock thought of working with Cleland and Aiello, and the Frenchman’s legacy and why he’s most proud of his BTCC title in '99. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The four finalists who will contest the 2024 Silverstone Autosport BRDC Young Driver of the Year Award have been selected. Formula 3 race winner Arvid Lindblad, recently crowned British F4 champion Deagen Fairclough, GB3 Champion Louis Sharp and Italian F4 Champion Freddie Slater will battle it out for prizes that include a test in Aston Martin F1 machinery and £200,000. Of the four finalists, only Lindblad has been a finalist before, in 2023. The drivers will be put through their paces in a thorough test of their fitness, as well as two days of testing at Silverstone in F2, GT3 and LMP3 machinery. Dre Harrison and Autosport Chief Editor (and Judge!) Kevin Turner is on the latest edition of the Autosport Podcast to talk about all four finalists' seasons, such as Fairclough's dominance in British F4, Lindblad's four wins as a rookie in F3, Freddie Slater taking the Italian F4 Crown, and Louis Sharp's recent GB3 title win, as well as a behind the scenes look at the judging process. Be sure to tune in on Janu

Today marks the 50th Anniversary of one of McLaren's greatest achievements. In 1974, they became the second manufacturer in history to win the Formula One World Championship and the Indianapolis 500 in the same year. Motorsport legends Emerson Fittpaldi won the F1 World Title in the McLaren M23, and Johnny Rutherford won the Indy 500 with the McLaren M16, two cars with very similar design concepts that stood the test of time. To mark the occasion, Autosport's Chief Editor Kevin Turner made the trip out to Pembrey in North Wales to have the McLaren Heritage Program fire up both cars together for the first time, and on this edition of the Autosport Podcast, he and Dre Harrison chat about what made McLaren's double so special. From the intertwined development path that both cars took, the dramatic rise of speeds in Indianapolis in the early 1970s, to how Fittipaldi triumphed in '74 as both he and Clay Regazzoni entered the final round of the Championship tied on points, something that's only happened twice in

It was a fascinating season in the world of IndyCar in 2024. Josef Newgarden became the first person to retain the Indy 500 title since Helio Castroneves in 2002. Across the overall season, the series had seven different winners, as Alex Palou won his third Astor Cup in four seasons with Chip Ganassi Racing. Together, Dre Harrison and Joey Barnes record an extended edition of the Autosport Podcast to review our Top 10 drivers of the 2024 season and review the big stories coming out of the end of the year, including Santino Ferrucci's great season with AJ Foyt Racing, Newgarden's non-500 struggles on and off the track, as well as the excellent turnaround campaigns from Will Power and Colton Herta at Penske and Andretti respectively. Can anyone challenge Palou for the #1 spot? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In the second episode in a four-part series, Dre Harrison introduces another interview from Super Touring Power 2, the event that celebrated what many fans consider to be the golden era of Touring Car racing.  In Episode 2, Kevin Turner sits down with two legends of the sport and beyond; 1993 British Touring Car Championship Runner-Up Steve Soper, and two-time British Touring Car Champion in 1989 and 1995, John Cleland. In the episode, Kevin presses Steve and John on the strengths and weaknesses of their cars in a highly competitive environment (Including the startling revelation that Cleland hated front-wheel drive!), dealing with the rise of popularity the series had in the '90s, and asking if there was one Super Touring Car they always wanted to drive, but never did… Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Formula E celebrates its 10th Anniversary later this year and with it, it's time to take a look back and rank the series 10 best drivers since its inception in China back in 2014. In the short decade of the series history, we've had 86 drivers take to the series, including former F1 World Champions and Indy 500 winners, but who is Formula E's greatest driver so far? Deputy National Editor and Formula E Reporter Stefan Mackley is joined on the Podcast by series broadcaster Saunders Carmichael-Brown to go back and forth on their own Top 10 lists and argue their case. Many of the series World Champions make the list such as 2024 series Champion Pascal Wehrlein, Sebastien Buemi, and Jean-Eric Vergne. But do any of the other veterans like Mitch Evans, Sam Bird or Felix Rosenqvist make it? Listen in and find out! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In the first of a four-part series, Dre Harrison introduces the best of Super Touring Power 2, an event which Autosport had the privilege of conducting a range of interviews with some of the greatest drivers of the Super Touring Car era. In Episode 1, Marcus Simmons sits down with 1998 and 2000 runner-up Anthony Reid, current British Touring Car Championship leader Jake Hill, and 1999 British Touring Car Champion Laurent Aïello, making his first UK appearance in 25 years! During the interview, a deep dive on the comparisons between the 90’s and the current hybrid cars Hill drives today, how Aïello came across the pond to England and his relationship with Nissan and the late David Leslie, and the stories of Anthony Reid racing in Germany and sleeping in the pit garages. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It was an emotional Singapore GP for Daniel Ricciardo, with strong rumours circulating at the time it may have been his final race in Formula 1. Today we got the confirmation from RB that the team will be switching drivers for the United States Grand Prix as Liam Lawson takes over for the rest of the 2024 season. Ben Hunt and Stuart Codling join Bryn Lucas to discuss whether or not Red Bull was right to move on from Ricciardo immediately, whether the team treated Ricciardo unfairly, and what to expect from Lawson as he returns to the sport. There’s also discussion on the potential knock-on effect the move could have on Sergio Perez, whose future remains up in the air, and chat on the Singapore GP as a whole, with Lando Norris dominating up front, and some optimism in the Red Bull camp as Max Verstappen returned to the podium.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

After nearly an entire season of the World Endurance Championship, the series finally had a repeat winner at the Six Hours of Fuji as as the #6 Porsche team of Kevin Estre, Andre Lotterer and Laurens Vanthoor took a sixteen second victory over the WRT BMW team, with the #36 Alpine team scoring their first podium of the season in third. Gary Watkins joins Kevin Turner to review all the action from Fuji, including the missed opportunities left on the table by Toyota and Ferrari, as well as Cadillac's Earl Bamber, who span off into the outside wall late on. There's also praise for Charles Milesi with chat about Alpine and BMW's improvement over the course of the season. And as usual, there's a full review of the LMGT3 class too, as AF Corse got Ferrari's first win of the season, and the Manthey PureRacing Porsche squad of Bachler, Malykhin and Sturm wrapped up the Championship with a round to spare. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Round 17 of the 2024 F1 World Championship had the sport head back to the streets of Baku for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. And despite Charles Leclerc's early breakaway, it was Oscar Piastri who stunned the Monegasque driver with a brilliant pass into Turn 1 and then held off Leclerc's attacks to take his second career victory. Ben Hunt and Filip Cleeren join Bryn Lucas on this edition of the Autosport Podcast to discuss the epic battle for the win and the difficulty that Piastri's victory places on McLaren's driver management after their soft commitment to team orders for the rest of the season. Is it too quick for a U-turn now that Piastri's just 32 points behind Lando Norris in the standings? There's also a deep dive into the penultimate lap crash between Sergio Perez and Carlos Sainz and whether either driver could have done more to avoid the incident, the strong rookie drives of Franco Colapinto and Ollie Bearman, and how Red Bull's new floor upgrade will fair with their Singapore struggles of 2023 still

It's almost time for Round 17 of the 2024 Formula 1 World Championship as the sport heads back to the streets of Baku for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. Joining Steph Wentworth on the Autosport Podcast is Stuart Codling and Haydn Cobb and together they discuss the big (Non-Newey) stories heading into the weekend. After Monza, McLaren team principal Andrea Stella gave the media his biggest hint yet that the team may start favouring Lando Norris in pursuit of both major titles. Will we see that in Baku? Charles Leclerc has always gone well at the track, with three straight pole-positons, but has played down his chances of back-to-back wins. Is he bluffing? There's also more on whether Red Bull can figure out the balance issues on their troublesome RB20, the return of Ollie Bearman and what to expect from his 2nd F1 start, and the latest on whether Alpine will drop their engine department and become a customer team for 2025. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The worst kept secret in F1 was finally confirmed today as Adrian Newey will be joining Aston Martin as a shareholder and Managing Technical Director on a three-year deal in March 2025, rumoured to be on as much as £30 million a year. Fresh off the press conference announcing his arrival, Jon Noble joins Bryn Lucas on the Autosport Podcast to discuss the move and answer some of the big questions. Why did Newey join Aston Martin instead of Ferrari? How will he fit into an already loaded technical department at Silverstone, including his ex-colleague Dan Fallows? And how he will get the best out of Fernando Alonso as they finally get to work together for the first time in their careers? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Bryn Lucas is joined again by Jake Boxall-Legge and Filip Cleeren as they continue their analysis of the Italian Grand Prix. On this episode, the trio discuss Kimi Antonelli's exciting F1 debut, with the 18-year-old showing scintillating pace until a crash at the Parabolica on his second hotlap put him in the wall. A promising sign for his talent, a reckless crash on debut or something else entirely? And what can we expect of the teenager now he's confirmed to be joining Mercedes in 2025? Also, Kevin Magnussen became the first driver since Romain Grosjean in 2012 to be banned from a Grand Prix after picking up his 11th and 12th penalty points at Monza. But with multiple drivers thinking Magnussen's punishment was too harsh, is it time to look at the penalty point system? Also dialogue on Franco Colaptino's debut for Williams, and whether a young driver race at the end of Abu Dhabi's testing could be viable in the future. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This past weekend the World Endurance Championship headed to Austin, Texas for Lone Star Le Mans at the Circuit of the Americas. And across an epic 6 Hours, the AF Corse #83 Ferrari of Yifei Yi, Robert Kubica and Robert Shwartzman held off the #7 Toyota Gazoo Racing team of Kamui Kobayashi, Nick De Vries and Mike Conway to win by just 1.7 seconds, marking Ferrari’s first win in WEC outside of Le Mans since returning to full-time competition, and the sixth different winner in WEC in 2024.  Kevin Turner sits down on this edition of the Autosport Podcast with Gary Watkins to break down how it was the Yellow Ferrari that came out on top, the controversial crash caused by Sebastien Buemi that led to penalty points on his license, and the state of the midfield in WEC with Fuji less than a fortnight away. There’s also a full review of the LMGT3 class as the Heart of Racing Aston Martin team continued their excellent track record on home soil.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices