Olivier Panis was a very fine Formula 1 driver, but if there’s one thing he’ll be remembered for, it’s his remarkable victory in an utterly crazy Monaco Grand Prix in 1996. On this week’s show, the Frenchman talks us through what it was like to win on that day, for a French team, and how his life changed afterwards. He also discusses the other big moments in his career, including the leg-breaking shunt in Canada from which he was lucky to recover, his departure from Prost, driving for McLaren, BAR and Toyota – but turning down Williams…

Sponsor:

Protect yourself with expressvpn.com/GRID

Romain Grosjean returns to the show for the first time since September 2018 to discuss a life changing last six months for him. The Frenchman, of course, made headline news around the world for his miraculous escape from THAT dreadful fiery crash in Bahrain – and as he tells Tom, the episode has had a profound effect on him. He discusses the aftermath, the flashbacks and his recovery, plus his subsequent decision to continue racing in Indycars. Grosjean also talks about how his upcoming F1 test chance with Mercedes came about, why he can’t wait to jump behind the wheel of a world title winner, and why he’s loving watching F1 2021 from afar…

Monisha Kaltenborn is an F1 trailblazer. After growing up in India, she moved to Europe with her family and went on to study law. It was as a lawyer that she first came into contact with F1. She’d go on to become an integral part of the Sauber F1 team, first as CEO and then as the sport’s first ever female team principal. She discusses that incredible journey, plus her experiences of being a high-profile woman in a male-dominated environment – and what the sport needs to do to have more women follow in her footsteps.

Paddy Lowe’s career in F1 took him from Williams to McLaren to Mercedes and then back to Williams. Over the course of that journey Paddy developed some of the biggest tech innovations the sport has seen – including active suspension - as well as working with the likes of Senna, Prost, Hakkinen, Mansell and current superstar Lewis Hamilton. On this week’s show he’s open and honest about it all – including his departure from Williams in 2019 and the new mission he’s on…

 

Jost Capito has as good a motorsport pedigree as you’re likely to find. His most recent successes on the world championship stage have come in rallying, when he oversaw Ford and Volkswagen’s world title successes – and now he's charged with bringing Williams back to the front of the grid. On this week’s show the Grove team’s CEO opens up on what the Williams family made of his appointment, how his background on the Dakar rally will help him in the role, what Jenson Button will bring to the table, and why George Russell reminds him of the young man he signed for Sauber in 2001 – Kimi Raikkonen…

This week’s guest was a brilliantly fast racing driver – in pure pace terms, arguably one of the best over his years in the sport. Jarno Trulli won only the one race, at Monaco in 2004, but he put in many sensational qualifying performances - often seemingly out-performing his machinery. We spoke to him about all of the above, as well as what it was like to be Fernando Alonso’s team mate, how much he enjoyed driving for Alain Prost, why he never won for Toyota (despite some close calls) and much more…

Sponsor:

Protect yourself with expressvpn.com/GRID

We’ve done something a little different this week, because we haven’t got one special guest, but four! And the glue that links the fab four is that not only do they all work at Mercedes, they’ve all been with the Brackley-based team since the beginning – back when they were BAR, then Honda, then Brawn GP and finally Mercedes. Join Tom as he shares the stories of Ron Meadows, Andrew Shovlin, Simon Cole and James Vowles and the collective highs and lows that bond them together like brothers.

Sponsor:

Protect yourself with expressvpn.com/GRID

Yuki Tsunoda may be the latest Japanese racing hero, but he’s got a way to go to match the achievements of Tom’s guest this week: Kamui Kobayashi. In 75 races in F1 for Sauber and Caterham, Kobayashi earned himself a podium on home soil at Suzuka, more points than any other Japanese driver in history and cult hero status among fans. He’s also the man Sergio Perez credits for teaching him the dark art of tyre management. 

Kobayashi discusses all of the above and more, including the famous first impression he made on Jenson Button in 2009 and what he thinks of his successor, Mr Tsunoda…

Having joined McLaren in May 2019, Team Principal Andreas Seidl has been a key cog in the Woking team’s recent renaissance. But get to know him and it’s easy to see why. 

On this week’s show the German discusses his hopes and aspirations for 2021 and why he couldn’t be happier with his driver line-up of Lando Norris and Daniel Ricciardo. He also opens up on his management style, what he learned on the way up with BMW in F1 and with Porsche at Le Mans, and why standing on the grid at Monaco will always be such a special feeling…

Beyond The Grid is back for a new season, and for our first episode we’re proud to bring you a driver who is firmly in the spotlight in 2021: Sergio Perez. No one on the grid has experienced as many ups and downs as the Mexican over the last 12 months, from being the first driver to catch Covid-19 to losing his race seat, to winning his first race to landing a last-minute dream move to Red Bull.

Checo speaks about all of the above and much more, as well as giving us some fascinating insight into his new working relationships with Max Verstappen, Christian Horner, Adrian Newey and Helmut Marko…

Sponsor:

Protect yourself with expressvpn.com/GRID