Essential F1

By Essential F1

Join F1 commentating legend Ben Edwards and motorsport TV presenter Nicola Hume between every F1 race as they cut through the noise of Formula One and bring you everything you need to know along with ... more

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FAQs about Essential F1:

How many episodes does Essential F1 have?

The podcast currently has 30 episodes available.

Essential F1 episodes:

March 17, 2026 S2 Ep4: Kimi's Antonelli's First Win and Lewis Hamilton Back On The F1 Podium. Could Charles Leclerc Have Joined Him?
Congratulations to F1's newest winner, Kimi Antonelli, who put in a blistering shift to win the Chinese GP. And he was joined on the podium by his team-mate George Russell, Bono and Lewis Hamilton who looked like a proud dad.
Lewis said that it was some of the best racing he's ever experienced and Ferrari are back in form, but could they have had both cars on the podium rather than letting the drivers battle it out? Joining Ben Edwards and Nicola Hume to discuss this and lots of other talking points from this weekend is BBC 5 Live and Sky F1 Lead Commentator, Harry Benjamin.
01:10 Welcome
01:30 Ben's race roundup
04:06 Lewis Hamilton is back, but could Ferrari have split the two Mercedes?
06:55 Another stellar drive from Ollie Bearman. Bigger things in 2027?
10:55 Alpine have race pace. Are they the best of the rest?
13:14 Where are Red Bull's Wings?
16:20 Even worse than Red Bull, what has happened to McLaren?
19:43 Arise Kimi Antonelli! Faultless first podium. Could he win the title?
24:12 What do we think of the season so far?
29:47 We need to talk about Aston Martin
36:33 Looking ahead to the Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka
38:09 Prediction Championship Of The World!
Don't forget to subscribe so you don't miss any Essential F1 content.
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44min
March 10, 2026 S2 Ep3: Has The Australian F1 Grand Prix Set The Pace For The Season?
Formula One returned for 2026 with the Australian Grand Prix at Albert Park in Melbourne. New Season and new rules set the scene for an interesting race from the the start.
Joining Nicola Hume and Ben Edwards for the debrief is broadcaster and host of the BBC's F1: Back At Base, Holly Samos.
Ferrari are back. Charles Leclerc on the podium, but could they have won? Welcome Arvin Lindblad. What a debut from the only rookie. It was a terrible Saturday followed by a sensational Sunday from Max Verstappen, but he Mebourne curse struck again for Oscar Piastri and 5th for Lando Norris. Did McLaren overcook it in 2025?
Meanwhile, Mercedes are back. Toto Wolff is smoother than ever, but they didn't have it all their own way and as the new regulations are here, what do we think of the 2026 F1 style? We talk about the fact that drivers are now having to back off in qualifying. Is this right? And there's no time to rest as it's the Chinese F1 Grand Prix this weekend in Shanghai with the first Sprint race. Could this circuit give us a good idea of what is to come this year? The team share their predictions for the Chinese Grand Prix.
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40min
March 06, 2026 S2 Ep2: All The New F1 Tech Explained
With the biggest change in rules for years, there's a lot of new stuff to get our heads around for Formula One this season. Ben, Tommo and Vicki are here to tell you about all the tech including aero, energy recovery and boost.
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17min
March 04, 2026 S2 Ep1: We Are Back For Formula One 2026!
New Season. New Rules. New Studio! We are back with Essential F1 - the Formula 1 podcast that's essential for everybody who's into F1. The Oracle - Ben Edwards, is here to guide us through what will be a very interesting season, with the biggest set of rule changes in a generation. Joining Ben to discuss what pre-season testing has shown us and to run through all the teams, is ‪@TommoMcCluskey‬ and the legendary Vicki Butler-Henderson steers us through the 2026 chicances. And fresh from testing, Producer Jim has a few points for Ben & Tommo to discuss.
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52min
December 09, 2025 S1 Ep26: Lando Norris Comes Out On Top! With Colin Furze
Congratulations to Lando Norris, the 10th British driver to become Formula 1 Champion.

With the whole season coming down to the last race, Lando, Max Verstappen and Oscar Piastri were all in contention. All Lando needed to do was keep his cool, and that's exactly what he did to win the title and 2025 F1 Drivers' Championship.

As it's last episode of Midweek F1 for the 2025 season we thought we'd get out of the studio and head to YouTuber and F1 Superfan, Colin Furze's incredible bunker to take a look back at Lando's road to becoming 2025 F1 Champion and what we can expect in 2026, with all the changes that are coming.

It's been an equally nail-biting end to our Prediction Championship Of The World and we'll find out whether Ben Edwards, Nicola Hume, The Guests or Producer Jim has won.

We'd like to thank everybody that has listened to Midweek F1 this year and wish you all the best for the festive season. Please don't forget to subscribe and we'll see you in 2026.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from the Midweek F1 Team.
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44min
December 03, 2025 S1 Ep25: What Were McLaren Thinking?!
What a weekend at Lusail for the Qatar Grand Prix!

McLaren had it in the bag, but what went wrong and what does this mean for the final race of the season? This is even more like a Hollywood F1 movie than the actual Hollywood F1 movie.

Oscar Piastri, Lando Norris and Max Verstappen have all had an incredible 2025 season in their own way and any one of them could be crowned Formula 1 Champion this weekend.

Joining Ben and Nicola to discuss everything and share some incredible F1 driver stories of his own is Top Gear and Grand Tour genius, Andy Wilman.

Don't forget to hit the follow button so you don't miss an episode.
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46min
November 25, 2025 S1 Ep24: All Shook Up In Las Vegas! With Tommo McCluskey
What a weekend in the desert of Nevada for the Formula 1 Las Vegas Grand Prix. McLaren F1 will certainly hope that what happened in Vegas stays in Vegas. Although it wasn't the most exciting race of the year, there's lots to talk about between now and next weekend in Qatar.

Thanks to both McLaren's being disqualified, the Driver's Championship battle goes on. Could Max Verstappen achieve the seemingly impossible? What about Kimi Antonelli's astonishing drive, holding off Oscar Piastri and Charles Leclerc to help George Russell to the podium, and talking of rookies, we take a look at who's who in F2 and could be on the F1 grid in 2026.

Joining F1 commentary legend, Ben Edwards to discuss all of the above and try and answer Producer Jim's questions is BBC 5 Live's Jennie Gow, and F1 YouTuber, Podcaster and all-round nice guy, Tommo McCluskey.

And of course we look ahead to the penultimate race of this season in Qatar, where Lando Norris could win his first Formula 1 Driver's Championship...or not.
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51min
November 12, 2025 S1 Ep23: Pitlane to Podium with Rachel Brookes
What a race weekend in Brazil, overtaking for fun, crashes and penalties!

It looked like a clean start then turned into an early safety car, and the restart was bonkers with Piastri, Antonelli and Le Clerc going three wide, with Le Clerc out as a result. Then there was a virtual safety car, Max got a puncture and changed tyres, he then ripped through the field. Piastri got a 10 second penalty for a restart overtaking move. Then everyone over took everyone, pits galore and Lando won again. Oh and throw in a stand out drive from Kimi Antonelli holding off Max to second place! Just a few things to discuss.

Joining Ben Edwards and Nicola Hume in the hotseat this week is Sky F1's Rachel Brookes.

Please don't forget to follow us wherever you listen so you don't miss the final three episodes of this season.

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48min
October 29, 2025 S1 Ep22: Lando Norris Nicks The Win In Mexico! With Harry Benjamin
It's advantage Lando Norris as he leads the 2025 F1 Championship by 1 point after a fantastic race weekend in Mexico. And we've got not just one, but two voices of Formula 1 in the studio this week as we welcome back BBC 5Live and Sky commentator Harry Benjamin to join Ben Edwards and Nicola Hume.

The Mexico GP was like a Rallycross race with so many people on the grass, and then lots of penalties, interesting tyre strategies and what about that Virtual Safety Car! So much to discuss along with a look ahead to Brazilian GP at Interlagos - will Max Verstappen dominate again? And of course podium predictions.

As always Producer Jim has chosen some storylines from the weekend to discuss including the first corner crush, Max and Lewis kissing, Ollie Bearman not messing about, George Russell's potty mouth, Oscar Piastri's gameplan and whether that Virtual Safety Car cost Max Verstappen second place.

Plus Harry Benjamin tells us about how meeting Martin Brundle for the first time didn't quite go to plan.

Don't forget to follow us wherever you listen to your podcasts so you don't miss an episode of Midweek F1.

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50min
October 22, 2025 S1 Ep21: Sheriff Max Is Back In Town! With Holly Samos
The Cowboys were out in force for the United States Grand Prix in Austin this weekend and the Sheriff was most definitely Max Verstappen with a sprint race win followed by a Grand Prix victory.

The drama started a day early in Austin with a first lap crash in the sprint race that took out both McLarens, compounded by Max winning again! Giving him a further 8 point swing in the championship. Then on Sunday he did it again, making it a 23 point swing! To further compound McLaren’s frustration Ferrari at last had a good race with Charles LeClerc nipping into second starting on fresh tyres. Norris had to overtake Leclerc twice on track either side of pitstops but finally got it done right at the end. While this was going on Piastri was having a very quiet race down in 5th.

All of which means we now have a three-way fight for the drivers championship! Things are really hotting up as we get into the last sector of the season and joining Ben Edwards and Nicola Hume to give you the lowdown on the F1 hoedown is presenter of the BBC Chequered Flag 'Back At Base' podcast and former pitlane reporter, Holly Samos.

Please don't forget to follow us wherever you listen to Midweek F1 so you don't miss an episode.

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56min

FAQs about Essential F1:

How many episodes does Essential F1 have?

The podcast currently has 30 episodes available.