This week F1 held its spectacular season launch event at the O2 Arena in London in a ceremony that was all about entertaining the fans, particularly F1’s new fans.

Hot on its heels F1 is launching the latest Global Fan Survey, which is being conducted by Motorsport Network, Autosport’s parent company, in partnership with F1.

This is where F1 fans around the world have a chance to make their voices heard. There will be many useful learnings for F1, the teams, sponsors and promoters. The 2021 survey had 167,000 responses from 185 countries, with Nielsen certifying it as the largest sports survey ever conducted.

We have been conducting these surveys for many years. The 2017 survey came just after Liberty Media’s takeover of F1 and by 2021 we could clearly see the changes in attitudes and demographics among fans, who were younger and more female. So what will this new survey show?

Autosport Editor-in-Chief Rebecca Clancy and Chief Motorsport writer Ben Hunt join James in the studio and we hear from an influential voice from the US on F1’s new audiences, Toni Cowan-Brown.

If you'd like to participate in the 2025 F1 Global Fan Survey, you can do so by clicking this link: https://fansurvey2025-formula1.motorsportnetwork.com

Send your comments or questions to: @jamesallenonf1 on X/Twitter or [email protected].

Producer: Dre Harrison

A Motorsport Studios production for Autosport

Motor racing has a long tradition as an incubator of technology. AI is the latest example as tech companies flood into the sport as partners, helping teams harness AI to improve performance. F1 increasingly uses AI in its TV and online coverage to provide insights and content tailored for fans.

The FIA is also getting in on the act; this week it announced that AI will now help the F1 race officials and play a role in sensitive decisions on things like track limits and analysis of race incidents.

So what impact is AI already having on F1? Where might it get involved in the future? And should there be a limit to how far it goes?

We hear from a panel of industry experts: Rob Smedley, CEO of Smedley Group, Former F1 Director of Data Systems; Ferrari and Williams engineer, Joe Carroll, General Manager, Telco, Media, Entertainment, Games and Sport, Amazon Web Services and Stephane Timpano, CEO Aspire, which runs the A2RL autonomous racing league, where the AI coders are the stars.

In the studio with James are Autosport’s F1 Business Correspondent Mark Mann-Bryans and Sam Agini from the Financial Times.

Send your comments or questions to: @jamesallenonf1 on X/Twitter or [email protected].

Producer: Dre Harrison

Executive Producer: Jason Swales

A Motorsport Studios production for Autosport

This week we have a special interview with newly minted F1 World Champion team boss, Zak Brown.

Zak has been McLaren's CEO since 2018, but it’s taken him several attempts to get the right team structure and management team to bring a first Constructors’ World Championship since the heady days of 1998.

Zak has developed into a strong leader and here he shares some of his management techniques. He used to run sports marketing businesses and was recognised as one of the best sponsorship brokers in the sport for a decade, but an F1 team has many more departments, all of which have to be high-performing.

So what was the secret to finally getting McLaren in shape to deliver the title? Does he regret not being more ruthless at certain races in 2024, which might have given Lando Norris a better shot at winning the drivers’ title? Why does he feel the FIA must make serious changes to the refereeing of the sport in the stewards' room? And do McLaren start the 2025 season as Championship favourites?

In the studio to analyse with James are Autosport’s Editor-in-Chief Rebecca Clancy and Chief Motorsport Writer Ben Hunt.

Send your comments or questions to: @jamesallenonf1 on X/Twitter or [email protected].

Producer: Dre Harrison

A Motorsport Studios production for Autosport

Hello and welcome to the James Allen on F1 podcast, brought to you by Autosport.

This week we chat to F1’s youngest team principal, Oliver Oakes. The 37-year-old was parachuted into the Alpine team in August last year when they were struggling in 9th place in the Championship. They ended the season 6th.

Oli is the first to admit that there was a slice of luck involved, as the bulk of their points were scored with that amazing double podium in the wet in Brazil. But underneath that was an upward trend in car development and ultimately they deserved their finishing position.

So what happens next and is Oliver a mighty Oak? Is he the stabilising force that Alpine has been crying out for? And with rookie drivers making an astonishing 30% of the F1 field, we get Oliver’s take on why F1 is going for youth.

In the studio with James to discuss this are our International Editor Oleg Karpov and Marc Priestley, BBC Five Live commentator, podcaster and former McLaren F1 mechanic.

Send your comments or questions to: @jamesallenonf1 on X/Twitter or [email protected].

Producer: Dre Harrison

Executive Producer: Jason Swales

A Motorsport Studios production for Autosport

For the first JA on F1 podcast of 2025, we discuss Lewis Hamilton as he turns 40. The seven-time World Champion is preparing to drive a Ferrari F1 car for the first time this month. In his New Year message to fans, he said “Reinvention is powerful”

So how will this reinvention for Hamilton go? What do we know so far about the 2025 Ferrari car he will be driving? And what does history tell us about F1 champions who make late-career moves; how did it work out for them? Is it possible to win a World Championship beyond 40?

With James in the studio to dive into Lewis Hamilton at Ferrari are Chief Motorsport Writer Ben Hunt and F1 writer Jake Boxall-Legge. We also hear from our colleague Roberto Chinchero on the excitement building in Italy.

Send your comments or questions to: @jamesallenonf1 on X/Twitter or [email protected].

Producer: Dre Harrison

A Motorsport Studios production for Autosport

Who will win the 2025 F1 Drivers' Championship?

Will Lewis Hamilton score more points than Charles Leclerc?

What impact will the struggles of car manufacturers, especially Europeans, have on F1 next year?

How might geopolitics impact on F1, for example in the Middle East and Asia ?

For our final podcast of the year, we thought that rather than looking backwards with yet another Season Review – we would immediately throw it forwards and Superforecast F1 in 2025.

Joining James to look into the future are Jon Noble, Ben Hunt and Jake Boxall-Legge.

Send your comments or questions to: @jamesallenonf1 on X/Twitter or [email protected].

A Motorsport Studios production for Autosport

The F1 season is almost over. Max Verstappen has joined Alain Prost and Sebastian Vettel as a four-time world champion. But there is one very important matter still to resolve.

The Formula 1 Constructors’ Championship may not have the same caché with fans, but it matters a lot to the teams; it dictates how much F1 prize money they earn.

But this year it means even more; for the first time in 16 years, the two teams fighting it out are McLaren and Ferrari. This has echoes of the great years of Schumacher and Hakkinen of Hamilton, Alonso, Raikkonen and Massa.

Ferrari hasn’t won the title since 2008 and McLaren hasn’t won it since 1998. Whoever wins, it’s going to be epic!

Which of these great names will prevail? Who has the stronger drivers?

And how did we get here, when the season started with a series of Red Bull 1-2 finishes?

With James to discuss this are; Rob Smedley, former race engineer to Felipe Massa at Ferrari, BBC Commentator and former McLaren mechanic Marc Priestly and Autosport’s own Jake Boxall-Legge.

Send your comments or questions to @jamesallenonf1 on X/Twitter or [email protected].

A Motorsport Studios production for Autosport

This week we are doing something a little different. We explore how F1 teams make key decisions on areas like driver recruitment, development and race strategy and compare it with how things are done at a top Premier League football club.

F1 is a sport built around technology, whereas in football the smartest teams have began only in the last decade to use it for recruitment, for strategy, in-game tactical decisions and so much more.

With James to compare how Mercedes recruited Kimi Antonelli with how Liverpool FC discovered Mo Salah, we have two experts in their fields.

Rob Smedley, former race engineer to Felipe Massa, head of track engineering at Williams and who now runs Smedley Group which advises across the F1 spectrum on data and AI.

And Dr Ian Graham, of Ludonautics and most famously head of the data department at Liverpool FC for 11 years. His data analysis played a key role in building the Jurgen Klopp team that won the Premier League and Champions league. His book How to win the Premier League is a brilliant guide to the way decisions get taken in an elite sport.

Send your comments or questions to: @jamesallenonf1 on X/Twitter or [email protected].

A Motorsport Studios production for Autosport

This week we are looking at how you get an F1 team to the next level. In a super competitive environment like F1, where no-one stands still, how do you go from 8th in the championship to the top of the standings using technology and people? 

We welcome another F1 team principal James Vowles, who is 18 months into his programme to take Williams, F1’s second most successful team, back to the winner’s circle. It’s been 11 years since Williams last won a Grand Prix. James doesn’t want that to reach 15 years.

We’ll talk to James about how he’s empowering youth, as he’s done with Franco Colapinto, why plenty of F2 drivers are now getting into F1 but it’s not the series champions and what AI is already doing in F1 and what role it will play in the future. 

With James in the studio to fill in the picture is Autosport F1 writer, Jake Boxall-Legge. 

Send your comments or questions to: @jamesallenonf1 on X/Twitter or [email protected].

A Motorsport Studios production for Autosport 

This week we delve into the curious case of Daniel Ricciardo. He once rode a horse into the paddock at Austin, but will not be lining up there in at this year’s US Grand Prix - or any other Grands Prix - after being dropped by Red Bull.

Daniel was one of F1’s biggest fan favourites and an 8-time Grand Prix winner. But he’s not been the same driver for a few years now. As always with F1, a sport all about technology and hardware, at the heart of this is a very human story.

On this podcast we drill down into that story - what made Ricciardo special? And what went wrong? We hear from a Chief Engineer whose job was to develop Ricciardo for his big-time 2014 move to Red Bull Racing and from the Australian F1 TV host, who’s known Daniel since his early days.

With James in the studio are two top F1 journalists who covered Ricciardo’s entire career, Autosport’s F1 Editor Jon Noble and Chief motorsport writer Ben Hunt.

Send your comments or questions to @jamesallenonf1 on X/Twitter or [email protected].

Guests: Phil Charles, former Chief Race Engineer, Toro Rosso F1 team (now RB) Greg Rust, former Network 10 F1 Presenter

A Motorsport Studios production for Autosport