With five wins from a possible six in 2025 (plus another victory in the Miami sprint), you might be forgiven for thinking McLaren’s MCL39 is without fault. But listen to drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and its clear the car isn’t always perfect to drive, - especially in qualifying trim, and on this podcast host Edd Straw and former F1 technical director Gary Anderson look at the reasons for that. 

Following that, we’ve been inundated with tech questions from listeners recently, so the rest of the podcast is dedicated to answering them. As ever, it’s an interesting and varied selection, with questions on dirty air, engine modes, brake callipers, visor tear offs, and Lewis Hamilton's current struggles improving with the change of formula for 2026.

Want to ask Gary a question? Send it to [email protected]

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On the latest episode of The Race F1 Tech Show, Edd Straw and former F1 technical director Gary Anderson take a look at the current drama surrounding F1’s 2026 engine regulations, with stakeholders discussing significant changes to the rules aimed at heading off fears about cars repeatedly running out of energy.

Do these changes suggest the rule direction was wrong in the first place, or are there other factors at play?

Before that, Gary muses on Lewis Hamilton’s current predicament at Ferrari, and suggests the setup direction he’d push the seven-time world champion in if he was in Ferrari’s engineering team. 

And finally, the episode is rounded out with four excellent questions from listeners, which cover dirty air, how car liveries are applied, Max Verstappen’s recent upshift issue, and whether Renault might be tempted back into the power unit game, should F1 revert to V10 engines one day. 

If you'd like to ask Gary a tech question, email [email protected]

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We talk with Gary about Red Bull’s troubles and how it managed to win with a tricky car that took a long time to troubleshoot at Suzuka, and tackle your questions on the minimum weight limit, design drawings and airbox intakes. And with tyre weight a big talking point of late, we discuss whether or not the wheels should be excluded from minimum wight tests.

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Ferrari's Chinese Grand Prix weekend fell apart in embarrassing fashion when, after Lewis Hamilton's fine sprint race win on Saturday, both the Briton and team-mate Charles Leclerc were disqualified from Sunday's Grand Prix for excessive skid wear and an underweight car respectively. But how did one of F1's biggest hitting teams find itself in such a position?

That's the key question answered by former F1 technical director Gary Anderson in this episode of The Race F1 Tech Show.

Alongside host Edd Straw, Gary also takes a close look at how the rest of the big four teams' cars have performed over the first two races, plus he answers four tech questions sent in by listeners covering underbody airflow, front wing slot gaps, and more.

If you've got an F1 tech question you'd like answering on the show, send it to [email protected]

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The new season of The Race F1 Tech Show kicks off with a look Formula 1’s big four and the directions they have taken with their 2025 cars. 

Ex-Jordan, Stewart and Jaguar technical director Gary Anderson joins host Edd Straw to run the rule over the top cars based on what we’ve seen during launch season and testing. 

There’s plenty of chat about the suspension geometry, with anti-dive levels a major talking point, as well as the areas of similarity and difference between Red Bull, McLaren, Ferrari and Mercedes. 

We also answer questions from The Race Members’ Club, which covers a wide range of topics from whet Ferrari’s level of anti-dive is helping new signing Lewis Hamilton to McLaren’s rear instability, and from the suitability of the Bahrain track for testing to Red Bull’s geometry. 

There’s also questions about whether the the practical performance limit under the current regulations is being hit, and the argument for opening up testing now that there’s a cost cap in place. 

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On the final episode of The Race F1 Tech Show for 2024, host Edd Straw helps former F1 technical director Gary Anderson navigate through a bumper batch of questions from listeners. 

Included are questions on whether a loss of platform control was the reason behind Red Bull’s dip in dominance, whether there’s evidence that the windtunnel restrictions are what’s keeping the field close, why Mercedes looked strong in cool temperatures and weak in warmer climates, whether Fernando Alonso should be considered a poor development driver, why Alpine’s performance surged in the second half of the season, and much, much more.  

A big thanks to all of you for listening to the show in 2024. Edd and Gary will be back next year with more technical focused F1 chat. If you’d like to send a question ahead of time, you can reach us on [email protected]

The Race F1 Podcast is doing two live shows in January! Get your tickets today:

London on 16th January - https://podlifeevents.com/event-details/the-race-f1-podcast-live-from-london-16th-jan-2025-tickets

Birmingham on 17th January - https://podlifeevents.com/event-details/the-race-f1-podcast-live-from-birmingham-17th-jan-2025-tickets

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On this episode we’re lifting the lid (or should that be peaking under the fuel cap?) of F1 fuel tanks - an area of the car some might assume is fairly basic and uninteresting, but (like everything else in F1) is actually incredibly complex and has a huge impact on performance.

Joining us to share his wisdom is Giles Dawson of Aero Tech Laboratories (ATL), who shares details about fuel tank (or fuel bladder) design considerations, safety considerations, the materials used in their construction, the lessons learned from Romain Grosjean’s infamous fiery crash in Bahrain in 2020, and how the fuel tank influences performance, amongst other things. 

Before that, host Edd Straw and former F1 technical director Gary Anderson discuss some of the issues arising from the Qatar Grand Prix, including whether F1 needs permanent stewards and why Alex Albon’s wing mirror fell of his Williams, bringing out the yellow flags Lando Norris later failed to slow for. 

And as ever, Gary and Edd round off the show by answering listener questions, which this week are on power unit failures, engine mapping, and Cadillac's windtunnel test programme.

Got a tech question? Drop Edd and Gary a question via [email protected]

Buy tickets to The Race F1 Podcast LIVE in London and Birmingham:

• London on 16th January - https://podlifeevents.com/event-details/the-race-f1-podcast-live-from-london-16th-jan-2025-tickets
• Birmingham on 17th January - https://podlifeevents.com/event-details/the-race-f1-podcast-live-from-birmingham-17th-jan-2025-tickets

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The battle for the 2024 drivers' world crown may be all but over, but on the constructors' front the battle is still raging, with the final three races set to decide whether McLaren, Ferrari or Red Bull take top honours (and the considerable prize money that goes with it).

On this episode of The Race F1 Tech Show, host Edd Straw and former F1 technical director Gary Anderson cast an eye over each team, assessing the job they've done over the course of the season and assessing which of the remaining tracks will suit which car.

There's also an in-depth discussion about Aston Martin, following the news that Dan Fallows will be leaving his role of technical director, just as Adrian Newey prepares to join. Gary explains his theory as to why Aston have struggled this season, and with car development in seasons before, and offers his thoughts about the direction the team should adopt going forwards.

And finally, Edd and Gary dive into another batch of questions from listeners, several of which focus on changes to Formula 1's technical regulations...

 Got a tech question? Drop Edd and Gary a question via [email protected]

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On this episode of The Race F1 Tech Show, host Edd Straw and former F1 technical director Gary Anderson cover a raft of topics that came up over the Brazilian Grand Prix weekend, including wet weather set-ups, red flag tyre changes (and whether they should be allowed), and Aston Martin's miserable performance level - especially compared to its similarly powered and funded rival McLaren.

They also dive into the latest technical tit-for-tat between Red Bull and McLaren, with the emergence of a new theory of alleged tyre trickery. But what exactly is Red Bull alleging, how would a team go about doing it, and - in the absence of any proof - is it realistic to think any team would seriously contemplate it?

And as ever, before closing out the episode, Gary answers a handful of questions sent in by listeners. This time they're on wet weather ride height, a new F1 engine formula, low-tech F1 components, and the current state of F1 simulation tools.

Got a tech question? Drop Edd and Gary a question via [email protected]

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The main topic for this episode of The F1 Tech Show was an obvious choice, after Red Bull admitted in Austin that it has a device that can adjust the height of the ‘bib’ at the front of the floor but denying that it was ever – or could ever have been – used to make changes during parc ferme.

Edd Straw is joined by former F1 technical director Gary Anderson to explain why bib height is so important, how the adjuster tool works, and why Red Bull's rivals are annoyed.

Also on the show, Gary gives his opinion on Mercedes' US Grand Prix struggles, after its latest upgrade failed to deliver consistent results, plus he answers another handful of questions from listeners, including one sent in by a NASA systems engineer!

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