Ready for the Big Time: F1

Vegas, Baby! How Las Vegas evolved from gambling mecca to sports town
Liberty Media is spending half a billion dollars to make the Las Vegas Grand Prix the “event of the year” in a city known for over-the-top programming. Along with the gambling and the all-star residencies, Vegas just added NFL, NHL and WNBA teams and recently added the Oakland A’s to that roster. This episode of Ready for the Big Time: F1 explores the logistics behind this endeavor, revisits the last time Sin City hosted a GP, back in 1982, and checks back in with Daniel Ricciardo about what he's excited to see. All the while, we’ll speak with Liberty Media boss Greg Maffei about why returning to Vegas is such an essential piece of the American takeover.

Host, Scott Speed shares why he views Las Vegas as a motorsports city and co-host Andrew Lawrence speaks with Greg Maffei, president and chief executive officer of Liberty Media, about the company’s plans for the LVGP and cultural impact of the sport since taking over F1.

Ready for the Big Time: F1 is a production of the Red Bulletin magazine. Producers include Nora O'Donnell and Melissa Saenz Gordon. Executive producers include Peter Flax and Branden Peters. Engineering by Full English Post. Original artwork by Chris Rathbone, with additional designs by HLabs.

Earlier this year, Oracle Red Bull Racing and Scuderia AlphaTauri announced a powerplant partnership with Ford Performance, starting in 2026. Meanwhile, Andretti Global is teaming with GM/Cadillac to field an 11th F1 team. This episode of Ready for the Big Time: F1 will explore Ford’s rich history in the sport, what drove Ford’s support away, and why a return is so exciting. Then we’ll look at why Cadillac’s entry could be the final stroke that sheds their frumpy reputation.

Host Scott Speed discusses his connection with Ford Cosworth engines, and co-host Andrew Lawrence speaks with A.J. Baime, author of Go Like Hell: Ford, Ferrari and Their Battle for Speed and Glory at Le Mans; and speaks with Mark Rushbrook, global director at Ford Performance Motorsports, about the company’s exciting and timely return.

Ready for the Big Time: F1 is a production of The Red Bulletin magazine by Red Bull USA. This series is produced by Nora O'Donnell and Melissa Saenz Gordon. Executive producers include Peter Flax and Branden Peters. Engineering for this series is done by Full English Post. Artwork by Chris Rathbone and HLabs.

"I was always aware that racing could be mixed. If I was gonna compete, it was going to be competing against men. And because I got into it so young, I was so oblivious to being one of so few females in the sport." —Jamie Chadwick, Indy NXT racer

This episode of Ready for the Big Time: F1 chronicles the history of female F1 drivers, from the pioneers of the 1950s to the roadblocks to progress in the ensuing decades and the rise and fall of the W-Series to the recently launched F1 Academy taking up the mantle. Co-Host Andrew Lawrence speaks with F1 journalist Hazel Southwell about the history of women in F1, and speaks with Jamie Chadwick, 3x W-series champion and current Indy NXT racer for Andretti Autosport, about her career in motorsport.

Season 2 of Ready for the Big Time: F1 is hosted by Scott Speed. This episode was written by Andrew Lawrence with help from Nora O'Donnell and Melissa Saenz Gordon. It was produced by Nora O'Donnell and Melissa Saenz Gordon. Engieering by Full English Post. Executive producers for this series include Peter Flax and Branden Peters.

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Young American women are among the biggest drivers of F1’s current popularity boom, and their wide-eyed enthusiasm for the sport is forcing the hidebound male gatekeeper fans of the sport to get with the times. In this episode of Ready for the Big Time: F1, we’ll examine the communities that these young women have formed around F1 and how it’s unlike anything this sport, or rival men’s pro leagues, have ever seen.

This episode is hosted by Scott Speed and co-host Toni Cowan-Brown, aka @F1Toni, who speaks with culture writer Lily Herman, author of the newsletter Engine Failure and co-host of the podcast Choosing Sides: F1 (SI and iHeartRadio) and content creator Mikaela Kostaras, aka @SheLovesF1.

For more episodes from seasons 1 and 2 of Ready for the Big Time: F1, CLICK HERE!

Just in time for the United States Grand Prix in Austin, season 2 of Ready for the Big Time: F1 opens with an episode recorded at the track, with arguably the most popular figure in Formula 1, whether he’s behind the wheel or not. F1 journalist Justin Hynes speaks with Daniel Ricciardo on the growing popularity of F1 in the US, why he loves the Austin track so much, and waxes poetic about his love for NASCAR (and Texas BBQ).

The inaugural season explored what it would take for Formula One to make the big time in the United States. Now, with an American driver on the grid, an American team and three US GPs, F1 fever has arrived in the US, and in the process, the sport has embraced some distinctly American traits. This season of Ready for the Big Time: Formula 1, unpacks the Americanization of F1. Host Scott Speed, and co-hosts F1 Toni and Andrew Lawrence, will explore the splashy plans for the Las Vegas GP and Liberty Media’s winning strategy to the rising popularity of F1, how American carmakers are betting on F1 and why reaching female content creators may be the secret ingredient to propel the sport into the stratosphere. Launching October 19.

Explore season one of this series HERE.

Ready for the Big Time: Formula 1 is produced by Red Bull's Red Bulletin magazine. It's produced and written by Nora O'Donnell and Melissa Saenz Gordon. Engineering by Full English Post. Executive Producers include Peter Flax and Branden Peters.

For the season finale of Ready for the Big Time: F1, host Andrew Lawrence considers the road ahead—the future of Formula 1. No, he’s not talking about the engineering or technology of the sport, but rather, the actual composition of the sport—the people who will not only be watching the sport in the years ahead but participating as well. To help us across the finish line, Andrew speaks with the only American driver in the W-Series driver, Chloe Chambers, essentially an F1 sister series for women racers, and newly signed Red Bull Racing content creator, F1 Elly. Expect cameos from Amanda Mull, staff writer of The Atlantic magazine, F1 journalist, Jennie Gow, and Mario Andretti.

We're still stuck on this whole American F1 driver drought thing.

This episode explores the era after the Red Bull Driver Search and Scott Speed’s historic and all-too-brief time driving in F1 during the early aughts. Host Andrew Lawrence speaks with racer Alexander Rossi, Red Bull American Driver Search finalist and current IndyCar driver, and Jak Crawford, a Formula 3 driver on the Red Bull Junior Team.

What if there was a reality show that sparked US interest in F1? Two decades before Drive to Survive dominated American F1 attention spans, Red Bull engineered a search to find the next American F1 driver, and along with it, a scrapped reality TV show. Host, Andrew Lawrence, speaks with racer Scott Speed, the winner of the Red Bull Driver Search, and Maria Jannace, the brains behind the program.

Porpoising might be F1’s reining buzzword for 2022, but how did a water animal make it into motorsport? In this episode, host, Andrew Lawrence, breaks down the technology behind F1, from aerodynamics to fitness. The guests for this episode come right out of the garage and include Jody Egginton, Scuderia AlphaTauri’s technical director and Pyry Salmela, performance coach for AlphaTauri driver, Pierre Gasly. This episode also welcomes back Mario Andretti and F1 reporter, Hazel Southwell.