F1 Beyond The Grid

A fiery crash, a miraculous recovery, a shock disqualification, and a tense, rain-soaked title-decider. At the end of the drama-filled 1976 season, James Hunt emerged as Formula 1 World Champion.Hunt was loved by fans and respected by his rivals, particularly by Niki Lauda. The pair fought for the world title in a remarkable year in which Lauda almost lost his life.James retired from F1 as a World Champion with 10 race wins and 23 podiums. He later became a broadcaster, commentating for the BBC alongside Murray Walker. He died in 1993, aged just 45.To mark the 50th anniversary of James Hunt's title win, Tom Clarkson speaks to his son Freddie - also a racing driver and TV presenter. Freddie shares stories of his ‘maverick' father, and how being the son of a world champion affected his own career.

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.

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.This episode is sponsored by: CarGurus: go to cargurus.co.uk for complete vehicle details without any surprises.Homeserve: join the millions of customers who trust HomeServe. For 50% less your firstyear, go to homeserve.com/grid.Claude: For problems worth solving go to Claude.ai/grid.