F1 Beyond The Grid

2026 was supposed to be the year Williams made a big step forward in Formula 1.

They’d scored their first podiums under Team Principal James Vowles in 2025, all while prioritising focus on this new era of regulations, so expectations of what they could achieve this season were high. But they’ve fallen well short of those.

Speaking to Tom Clarkson, James talks about the phone calls he had with Alex Albon and Carlos Sainz before the season to tell them the team was ‘in trouble’, whether he was worried both drivers would leave and why the car was overweight in the first place.

James is very honest and self-critical, reflecting on what he’d do differently and the advice he’d give himself in hindsight. But he’s also optimistic about the future, with the team fighting hard to overcome their struggles and showing ‘true innovation’ to create a new chassis that was introduced in Baku.
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From scoring his first podium with the team in Monaco, to missing three races with a wrist injury, and then re-signing for 2027, Isack Hadjar has had an eventful first season at Red Bull Racing.

Speaking to Tom Clarkson, Isack opens up about what happened to his wrist, how challenging it was to miss those races and what that new contract means to him.

Plus, Isack tells Tom why he’s been ‘surprising himself’ this year, what it’s like being Max Verstappen’s teammate and his targets for the rest of the season and beyond.

Red Bull Team Principal Laurent Mekies also joins Tom to talk about their approach to Isack’s recovery, why they’ve decided to keep him on for another year and whether Red Bull have everything they need in place to start challenging for World Championships again.

‘I did all I could to survive’. A fiery crash put his life in danger, but Romain Grosjean escaped the flames and returned to racing.

As Romain tells Tom Clarkson, the crash in Bahrain was not the first time he had to rebuild his career. After a seven-race spell in Formula 1 in 2008, he was dropped for the following season. Determined to find a way back, he took a step down the motorsport ladder to the junior category, GP2, became champion, and earned a Formula 1 comeback with the same team that had previously let him go.

Romain, who has 10 F1 podiums to his name, reflects on Grands Prix he could have won, how his former team Haas have changed since he scored points for them on their debut 10 years ago, and considers his future in the Formula 1 paddock.
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After describing 2025 as the ‘toughest year of my career’, Yuki Tsunoda was thrilled to make his F1 comeback with Racing Bulls after the summer break – stepping in for Liam Lawson while he fills in for the injured Isack Hadjar at Red Bull.
Speaking to Tom Clarkson, Yuki gives a very honest account of his struggles at Red Bull last season – revealing how it affected him personally, the biggest mistake he made and what it really felt like when he found out he wouldn’t be on the grid in 2026.
Or so it would seem… Yuki received the call that he’d be back racing in Zandvoort just three days before the first practice session, so he takes Tom inside the chaotic week that ensued, how he prepared to drive the 2026 cars for the first time at such short notice, and what it meant to score points in the second race of his comeback at Monza.
And while Yuki’s unsure how many more races he’ll compete in this season as Isack recovers, Tom asks him what the future holds from 2027 onwards.
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Aston Martin Global Ambassador Pedro de la Rosa joins Tom Clarkson to discuss how Aston are fighting back after a difficult 2026 so far.

Pedro tells Tom how it really felt when they realised just how far behind they were during the Barcelona shakedown and whether the team’s strategy of waiting until halfway through the season to bring upgrades risked them losing two-time World Champion Fernando Alonso.

Pedro also talks more about his relationship with Alonso, including how they communicate with each other through eye contact, and what it’s like working with Aston Team Principal and legendary designer Adrian Newey.

Plus, 20 years on, Pedro reflects on his first and only F1 podium at Hungary in 2006, why that result didn’t guarantee his seat at McLaren and how ‘hurt’ he was to not race alongside Lewis Hamilton in 2008.
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