F1 Beyond The Grid

<div>Haas Team Principal Ayao Komatsu is Tom Clarkson’s guest on this week’s F1 Beyond The Grid.</div><br><div>Ayao has been with Haas since their debut season 10 years ago, but he’s only been in charge since 2024. What has he learned about leadership in that time? How did he guide the team’s recovery from such a difficult start last season? And what are Haas’ targets in the new era of Formula 1?</div><br><div>As for the drivers, Ayao tells Tom what he wants to see from Esteban Ocon this year and how long they can hold on to Ollie Bearman if his eye-catching performances continue.</div><br><div> <p>Ayao also reveals a lot about his relationship with owner Gene Haas and what Toyota bring to the table as the team’s technical partner.</p><p><strong>F1 Nation + F1 Explains are together in 2026<br></strong><a href="https://www.podfollow.com/f1-nation">Get race reviews + answers to your questions all in one place</a></p><p>This episode is sponsored by Vanta: get started at <a href="http://vanta.com/GRID">vanta.com/GRID</a></p></div>

<div> <p>The son of a motorsport legend, a racer since childhood, Formula 1 was Jacques Villeneuve's destiny. In 1996, the young Canadian arrived at his first Grand Prix and immediately proved he belonged there by taking pole position. </p><p>In his rookie season Villeneuve won races, went wheel-to-wheel with Michael Schumacher and took Williams teammate Damon Hill to a final race title-decider. 30 years on, he sits down with Tom Clarkson to remember how he shook up the sport. </p><p>Jacques explains why he left IndyCar as reigning champion to join Williams in Formula 1, and how racing on ovals influenced how he drove Grands Prix. He talks about working with race engineer Jock Clear, and experimenting with his throttle pedal and steering wheel paddles to find extra performance.</p><p>Tom asks Jacques about the highlights of his first year in F1: his first pole position, his first race win and the spectacular pass he made on Michael Schumacher - an overtaking move still regarded as one of the best in F1 history.</p><p><strong>F1 Nation + F1 Explains are together in 2026<br></strong><a href="https://www.podfollow.com/f1-nation">Get race reviews + answers to your questions all in one place</a></p><p><strong>This episode is sponsored by:<br></strong>CarGurus: buy or sell your next car today at <a href="https://eur01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fcargurus.com%2F&amp;data=05%7C02%7CCBrowning-Brant%40f1.com%7Cb15836396ecf4234538108de8430ba0c%7Cb792abe295a94aff9e3a4beb3206df89%7C0%7C0%7C639093541993820014%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&amp;sdata=IG59pl8gj5Dp%2F0xr53uneKx%2B%2B7nW2DfKe%2BPSG3XpYQY%3D&amp;reserved=0">cargurus.com</a> <br> <br> Shopify: sign up for your one-dollar-per-month trial today at <a href="https://eur01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fshopify.com%2Fbeyondthegrid&amp;data=05%7C02%7CCBrowning-Brant%40f1.com%7Cb15836396ecf4234538108de8430ba0c%7Cb792abe295a94aff9e3a4beb3206df89%7C0%7C0%7C639093541993848940%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&amp;sdata=qM4I3X5qm3StGzj6DIwFkUyPUnpgSJ8OBJwOw5hvCVA%3D&amp;reserved=0">shopify.com/beyondthegrid</a><br> <br> Saily: get an exclusive 15% discount on your first Saily data plans! Use code grid at<br> checkout. Download Saily app or go to to <a href="https://eur01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fsaily.com%2Fgrid&amp;data=05%7C02%7CCBrowning-Brant%40f1.com%7Cb15836396ecf4234538108de8430ba0c%7Cb792abe295a94aff9e3a4beb3206df89%7C0%7C0%7C639093541993868681%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&amp;sdata=MPoOXoClkvZDsplMztfe5Rq7h7gXHCt4fSRW5ug98%2Fw%3D&amp;reserved=0">https://saily.com/grid<br></a><br></p></div>

<div>The newest team in Formula 1 are here to compete. Cadillac have earned the respect of their rivals. Now they’re pushing to get faster.</div><br><div>CEO Dan Towriss takes Tom Clarkson back to the start of the story - how he and his TWG Motorsports company first became involved in discussions about F1, conversations with General Motors and Cadillac, the work to build a team, choosing their race drivers and making their F1 debut in Australia.</div><br><div>Sergio Perez and Valtteri Bottas are the first Cadillac F1 drivers. What do they bring to a new team? What does the future hold for the team’s reserve driver, IndyCar star Colton Herta?</div><br><div> <p>And what are the team’s aims in their first season? The learning curve is steep at the pinnacle of motorsport, but as Dan says, ‘no part of this should be easy’.</p><p>This episode is sponsored by: </p><p>Vanta: get started at <a href="http://vanta.com/GRID">vanta.com/GRID</a></p><p>Liquid I.V. : go to <a href="http://liquidiv.com">liquidiv.com</a> and get 20% off your first purchase with<br>code GRID at checkout</p><p>Rag &amp; Bone: It’s time to upgrade your denim with Rag &amp; Bone. For a limited time, our listeners get 20% off their entire order with code GRID at <a href="http://rag-bone.com">rag-bone.com</a></p></div>

<div>Five years after Carlos Sainz left McLaren, his former team and his former teammate are the reigning Formula 1 World Champions. As he watched Lando Norris reach the summit of world motorsport, did he ever think ‘that could have been me?’.  </div><br><div>Speaking to Tom Clarkson, Carlos reflects on leaving McLaren and becoming a race winner with Ferrari before joining Williams. He remembers feeling ‘powerless’ during a difficult start to the 2025 season, and reveals the work which led him to stand on the podium later in the year.</div><br><div>Carlos gives his first impressions of the 2026 F1 cars and explains why he wants to use the ‘peak’ of his career to take Williams back to the top.</div><br><div> <p><strong>Listen to other official F1 Podcasts</strong><br><a href="https://www.podfollow.com/f1-nation">F1 Nation Australia Grand Prix Preview</a><br><a href="https://www.podfollow.com/f1-nation">F1 Explains: what you need to know for 2026</a><br> </p><p>This episode is sponsored by: </p><p>Shopify: sign up for your one-dollar-per-month trial today at <a href="http://shopify.com/beyondthegrid">shopify.com/beyondthegrid</a></p><p>Quince: go to <a href="http://quince.com/GRID">quince.com/GRID</a> for free shipping and 365-day returns.</p><p>CarGurus: buy or sell your next car today with CarGurus at <a href="http://cargurus.com">cargurus.com</a></p></div>

<div>A title fight full of twists and turns, a new World Champion, rookies reaching major milestones and Formula 1 on the big screen.</div><br><div>The 2025 season was nothing short of dramatic on and off track. Here, on F1 Beyond The Grid, Tom Clarkson has sat down with the people in the thick of all that drama and in this end-of-year special, Tom picks out his highlights.</div><br><div>You’ll hear from the new World Champion Lando Norris, who reveals how he changed his mental approach to racing, and his race engineer Will Joseph. Lando’s title rival and teammate Oscar Piastri explains how he made so much progress from 2024 to 2025. And McLaren CEO Zak Brown and Team Principal Andrea Stella tell us how they’ve managed to get Lando and Oscar to buy into the team’s racing philosophy.</div><br><div>Away from the champions, Isack Hadjar reflects on how he bounced back from a nightmare F1 debut in Australia. Esteban Ocon and his race engineer Laura Mueller explain how they’ve built a relationship in their first year working together at Haas. And Valtteri Bottas tells Tom why he’s got unfinished business with F1 ahead of his return with Cadillac in 2026.</div><br><div>From the cockpit to the pitwall, Williams Team Principal James Vowles shares his pride after Carlos Sainz secured the team’s first podium since 2021 and Ferrari boss Fred Vasseur gives his thoughts on Lewis Hamilton’s first year in red.</div><br><div>Plus, four-time World Champion Sebastian Vettel reflects on the highs and lows of his career and Hollywood icon Brad Pitt reminisces on what it was like becoming F1 driver Sonny Hayes for F1: The Movie.</div><br><div>Thank you for listening in 2025. F1 Beyond The Grid will return in 2026.</div><br><div>To hear the full interviews with the guests featured in this show, click on the links below…</div><br><div> <a href="https://podfollow.com/f1-beyond-the-grid/episode/5ea7ad5f9b9f1f978b026fa9b1f271d8b97edbb0/">Lando Norris</a> </div><br><div> <a href="https://podfollow.com/f1-beyond-the-grid/episode/31e0a8439e65b5d80e459e4ea135aa570bcb5aaa/">Oscar Piastri </a><br> <br><a href="https://podfollow.com/f1-beyond-the-grid/episode/b005e8851b4080eb5aa016be7972919125d96524/">Andrea Stella + Zak Brown</a> </div><br><div> <a href="https://podfollow.com/f1-beyond-the-grid/episode/7d7a0292df8c66d7cac778bcb5b3bb12b8939f76/">Helmut Marko</a> </div><br><div><a href="https://podfollow.com/f1-beyond-the-grid/episode/abf8d8d7feddf7d8f37e7ffb1bcf837f5d0ba24a/">Fred Vasseur</a></div><br><div> <a href="https://podfollow.com/f1-beyond-the-grid/episode/4854fb01f34814ca4352d7186eb33787f9ee6e8a/">James Vowles</a> </div><br><div> <a href="https://podfollow.com/f1-beyond-the-grid/episode/375ea494bf155854fc22f7886246b6855d100021/">Brad Pitt</a> <br><br><a href="https://podfollow.com/f1-beyond-the-grid/episode/09c9473045c2e754df7baad4c8904c7e07ec78b0/">Sebastian Vettel </a> </div>