He drove for one of the least competitive teams in F1 history. He never started a race. Just making it to Formula 1 was ‘a million to one’ shot for Perry McCarthy. Through extraordinary determination, he did it.

When his raw talent behind the wheel was spotted at his local racetrack, McCarthy set his sights on racing at the top. He worked on a North Sea oil rig to raise money to fund his career. Racing in Formula 3000 and sports cars in America led to a chance in F1 with Andrea Moda – a team which only raced for one season in 1992. When Perry made it to the track, the car either broke down or was too slow to make it through an extra ‘pre-qualifying’ session.

From climbing the motorsport ladder with drivers including Damon Hill, to testing with Michael Schumacher at Benetton, and later becoming the mysterious ‘Stig’ on TV’s Top Gear, Perry tells Tom Clarkson an eye-opening story from a different era of Formula 1.

Vanta: visit vanta.com/GRID to sign up for a free demo today

Shopfiy: sign up for your one-dollar-per-month trial and start selling today at shopify.com/beyondthegrid

Racing twice in 2002 with Minardi and once again three years later with BAR Honda in 2005, Anthony Davidson’s Formula 1 career had a few false starts. But in 2007, he finally got a full-time shot with Super Aguri.

Although his F1 career ended just over a year later, Anthony is rightly proud to have reached the top of motorsport.

Speaking to Tom Clarkson, he discusses the ups and down of his time in F1 – telling us why he was a better test driver than racing driver, how his incredibly short-notice cameo at the 2005 Malaysian Grand Prix came about, why a groundhog cost him his best ever finish in F1, and what it was like to be involved in the so-called ‘Tyre War era’ of Formula 1.

Anthony also opens up about winning the World Endurance Championship with Sebastian Buemi in 2014 and why that meant so much to him having felt like ‘everything was lost’ after F1.

Now a simulator driver for Mercedes, Ant explains how much the sim technology has improved over time, what impact his work has on Mercedes’ performance during race weekends and whether sim racing makes Max Verstappen a better driver.

Find a screening near you at f1themovie.com

Book your seat for a Grand Prix this season at tickets.formula1.com

Every race analysed on F1 Nation

Expert answers to your questions on F1 Explains

F1 Experiences: want to get closer to Formula 1 than ever before? Visit f1experiences.com/beyondthegrid to book your official ticket package today.

Vanta: visit vanta.com/GRID to sign up for a free demo today!

Indeed: get a $75 sponsored job credit to

get your jobs more visibility at indeed.com/GRID 

To celebrate 75 years of the Formula 1 World Championship, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer invited drivers, Team Principals and others from the sport to 10 Downing Street - the heart of government in the UK. 

In a special episode of F1 Beyond The Grid, the Prime Minister tells Tom Clarkson why he's 'proud' of the sport's success and its £12bn annual contribution to the UK economy. Williams Team Principal James Vowles explains how teams find the very best young engineers.   

It is one year since Oliver Bearman was announced as a full-time F1 driver for Haas. Sitting in the Downing Street garden, he describes the 'surreal' feeling of stepping through Number 10's famous black front door, and looks forward to racing in front of his home fans at Silverstone.

Cadillac join the F1 grid in 2026. Team Principal Graeme Lowdon tells Tom about their dual bases in the US and UK, and gives a peek at preparations for their first Grand Prix.

Plus, Mercedes graduate aerodynamicist Daniel McCulla talks about how he got his start in F1, what he studied at university and the importance of never giving up on a career in the sport. Formula 1 and the UK government support aspiring engineers with scholarships, Apprenticeships and work placements at Formula 1 teams.

Lando Norris: raising his game - this week on F1 Beyond The Grid

F1 Nation previews the 2025 British Grand Prix

The story of the British Grand Prix - this week on F1 Explains

This episode is brought to you by Dropbox Dash, an official technology partner of the McLaren Formula 1 team.

Now a multiple race winner, podium finisher and polesitter, Lando Norris is ready to take the next step in his Formula 1 career and become World Champion.

To do so in 2025, he’ll have to beat his equally talented teammate Oscar Piastri. But despite a sometimes challenging first half of the season, Lando says he’s a better driver this year and just needs to find some consistency.

Speaking to Tom Clarkson, Lando talks about how he’s evolved as a driver on and off track since winning his first Grand Prix in Miami in 2024, what McLaren are doing differently in their approach since becoming Constructors’ World Champions, how he moved on from his collision with Oscar in Canada and why he’s working hard to switch off from Formula 1 when he’s not racing.

Lando also tells us how F1 The Movie star Brad Pitt performed in the 2023 McLaren car at Austin recently and what it would mean to win his home race at this weekend’s British Grand Prix.

Plus, Lando’s race engineer Will Joseph joins the pod to discuss how their relationship has changed since they started working together in 2019.

This episode is sponsored by: 

Shopify - sign up for your one-dollar-per-month trial and start selling today at shopify.com/beyondthegrid

Liquid.I.V. - go to liquidiv.com and get 20% off your first order with code GRID at checkout

For F1 The Movie, Brad Pitt lived the high-speed life of a Formula 1 driver. He drove with seven-time World Champion Lewis Hamilton. He learned to race. He spent years shooting scenes at racetracks around the world. 

The result is what he calls ‘the most visceral feeling you will get in a race car of anything put on film’ - F1 The Movie, in cinemas on June 25th and June 27th in North America.

Brad Pitt tells Tom Clarkson about making the movie, the ‘adrenaline’ he felt driving on spectacular Formula 1 circuits, what he learned from his time with Lewis Hamilton and how getting close to F1 cars and drivers took his breath away.

Plus, he reveals the true F1 stories which inspired the character of Sonny Hayes, describes the feeling of driving a real F1 car, and hints at his hopes for a sequel.

Find a screening near you at f1themovie.com

Book your seat for a Grand Prix this season at tickets.formula1.com

This episode is sponsored by:

For a limited time, go to ridge.com and use the code GRID for 10% off wallets, key cases + more

He took some blows on his climb to Formula 1. Now Isack Hadjar is toe-to-toe with the heavyweights.

Hadjar’s first F1 race was over before it began, as he slid off the track on a rain-soaked day in Australia. He tells Tom Clarkson how previous setbacks helped him get back on his feet, and establish himself as one of the best young drivers in the sport.

Hadjar describes himself as ‘a fighter’, and he picks the World Champion he most wants to face up to as team mates. He talks about the difficult step from Formula 2 to F1, life in Red Bull’s driver program, how his parents inspired him to reach the highest level, and how he earned his nickname, ‘Le Petit Prost’.

Experience F1: The Movie on the big screen

Only in cinemas June 27

Tickets at f1themovie.com

This episode is sponsored by: 

Shopify: sign up for your one-dollar-per-month trial and start selling today at shopify.com/beyondthegrid 

Vanta: for a limited time, listeners get $1,000 off Vanta at vanta.com/grid. 

Emerson Fittipaldi made history with Lotus in 1972 by becoming the first Brazilian to win the Formula 1 World Championship. In 1974, he won the title again with McLaren.

Emerson’s achievements on track are legendary, but his actions off track are just as iconic.

In a special F1 Beyond The Grid Legends episode, Emerson tells Tom Clarkson why he refused to take part in the 1975 Spanish Grand Prix, the extensive medical precautions he had in place during race weekends, and how he and some of the sport’s other big names at the time helped improve safety in the sport.

Emerson also talks about leaving Brazil for the UK to pursue his racing career, forming his own Brazilian F1 team, and the incredible phone call he received from Enzo Ferrari after Niki Lauda’s serious accident in 1976.

Plus, which current F1 driver reminds Emerson of himself? What impresses him the most about Max Verstappen? And how does he view this year’s title battle between McLaren teammates Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris?

This episode is sponsored by MasterClass: see MasterClass’s latest deal–at least 15% off–at masterclass.com/GRID

This year is the first time Valtteri Bottas isn’t racing in Formula 1 since he started as a rookie in 2013, but the 10-time Grand Prix winner says F1 is ‘still the number one thing in my life’ and his priority is to get back on the grid in 2026.

Speaking to Tom Clarkson, Valtteri discusses all the options he has for his next move.

Would he like to drive for the new Cadillac team that will join F1 next season? Could he race for Mercedes again? Or will there be opportunities at other teams like Red Bull or Alpine?

Valtteri tells Tom why he doesn’t want his F1 career to be over yet, what attributes he would bring to a team in a year of new regulations and cars, and the deadline he has put in place to make a decision on his future.

He also explains why he rejoined Mercedes as a Reserve Driver this year instead of competing in any other series.

Don't miss the chance to see F1 on the big screen. Only in cinemas June 2025

Get tickets now

Book your seat for a Grand Prix this season at tickets.formula1.com

Liquid I.V. : Go to liquidiv.com and get 20% off your first order with code GRID at checkout

Indeed: Listeners of this show will get a $75 sponsored job credit to get your jobs more visibility at indeed.com/grid

Vanta: For a limited time, listeners get $1000 off at vanta.com/grid

When he left Ferrari to join Mercedes, Simone Resta took decades of experience with him. In Italy, he worked with Michael Schumacher and designed race-winning cars for Sebastian Vettel, Kimi Raikkonen and Charles Leclerc. Now, his task is giving George Russell and Kimi Antonelli the best Mercedes he can.

As Deputy Technical Director Simone is focusing on the 2025 season, but he tells Tom Clarkson he is also thinking about the opportunity of 2026, when the rules on car design and power units will change.

Simone talks about starting his career in the late 1990s with Minardi, a small team which struggled for results, his move to Ferrari, what engineers really want to hear from their drivers, and why he decided to leave his native Italy and ‘go for it’ with Mercedes

Only in cinemas, June 2025

Don’t miss the chance to see F1 on the big screen

Go to f1themovie.com to book a screening near you

Visit Bitdefender.com. To learn more about how Bitdefender supports Ferrari to stay ahead of cyber threats and how you can make your digital life safer.

Dario Franchitti has had a sensational racing career in the United States, becoming a four-time IndyCar series champion and a three-time winner of the Indy500.

But earlier in his career, Dario had plenty of interest from Formula 1 and tested for a few different teams. So why didn’t he end up racing in the pinnacle of motorsport?

Speaking to Tom Clarkson, Dario talks about the three big opportunities he had to drive in F1 and why they never materialised – sharing fascinating insight into the negotiations he had and the tests he completed for different teams.

He also discusses his racing idols, how three-time F1 World Champion Sir Jackie Stewart became his mentor and what it takes to become a complete IndyCar driver.

This episode is sponsored by: 

Vanta: for a limited time, listeners get $1000 off at vanta.com/grid 

Shopify: sign up for your one-dollar-per-month trial and start selling today at shiopify.com/beyondthegrid