Bring Back V10s - Classic F1 stories: Recent Episodes
The Race Media Ltd
Bring Back V10s celebrates a classic era when Formula 1 was loud on the track and off it. Join us for a series of deep-dive episodes revisiting memorable stories where we recall information from the time and previously-unknown details about some fascinating tales from F1's history
It's time for our regular 'Ask us anything' episode in series 8, with Edd Straw, Gary Anderson and Andrew van de Burgt joining Glenn Freeman to tackle a range of questions from the Bring Back V10s audience! Get ready to hear their thoughts a huge range of topics, including the idea of the Schumacher brothers as team-mates, how a Ford-powered McLaren could have done in 1994, manufacturers we'd have liked to see join during the V10 era, plenty of backmarker questions for Edd and a debate about the worst liveries that appeared on the grid. GET IN TOUCH: Use the hashtag #BringBackV10s on Twitter or email bringbackv10s@the-race.com Join the Bring Back V10s Twitter Community
ITV F1's pit lane reporter Louise Goodman joins Glenn Freeman and Ben Anderson to discuss one of the most chaotic races in the V10 era: The 1998 Belgian Grand Prix at Spa-Francorchamps. From the monstrous first lap pile-up and subsequent re-start to Michael Schumacher's infamous clash with David Coulthard and Jordan's first ever victory with Damon Hill, this was a race that had it all! GET IN TOUCH: Use the hashtag #BringBackV10s on Twitter or email bringbackv10s@the-race.com Join the Bring Back V10s Twitter Community
Nigel Mansell pulled off something that will surely never be seen again when he went to IndyCar as the reigning F1 world champion in 1993, and won the American series' title at the first attempt. Edd Straw and Karun Chandhok join Glenn Freeman to revisit Mansell's incredible first season in CART in great detail, all the way from his stunning debut victory in Australia, to coming back from a horrific crash at Phoenix and nearly winning the Indy 500 on his first oval start. With additional insight from veteran IndyCar reporter Curt Cavin, we explore how Mansell became the dominant force on ovals, rather than the road courses where the ex-F1 star was expected to dominate. GET IN TOUCH: Use the hashtag #BringBackV10s on Twitter or email bringbackv10s@the-race.com Join the Bring Back V10s Twitter Community
Nigel Mansell took a stunning victory from 12th on the grid at the Hungaroring of all places, where overtaking was thought to be almost impossible. And he capped it off with one of F1's all-time great passes, ambusing Ayrton Senna as the McLaren was baulked behind the ailing Onyx of Stefan Johansson. Sam Smith and Andrew van de Burgt join Glenn Freeman to revisit Mansell's brilliant drive, the rumours that Alain Prost was going to be signed as his team-mate (and how Nigel felt about that), plus we have a Tyrrell insider's recollection of a spat between Mansell and F1 newcomer Jean Alesi. There's also talk of Ford putting pressure on Benetton, Porsche considering an F1 comeback, Yamaha's disastrous year with Zakspeed, and Bernie Ecclestone bizarrely firing shots across the Atlantic at the CART series. GET IN TOUCH: Use the hashtag #BringBackV10s on Twitter or email bringbackv10s@the-race.com Join the Bring Back V10s Twitter Community
The 1995 Australian GP was a chaotic race that brought the curtain down on the first part of the Bring Back V10s era in many ways. It was F1's final visit to Adelaide, the last time we saw a V12 Ferrari, the final race before the distinctive high cockpit sides were introduced, and the last race that was started with green lights! Ben Anderson and Matt Beer join Glenn Freeman to discuss how Damon Hill came through a crazy, attritional race to win by two laps from a smoking Olivier Panis, while the second Williams of David Coulthard famously smashed into the wall at the pit entry while leading. And earlier in the weekend, F1 narrowly avoided tragedy when Mika Hakkinen suffered a horrible accident at the fastest corner of the circuit - and it wasn't long before rumours emerged that Alain Prost could stand in for him in early 1996 if required. GET IN TOUCH: Use the hashtag #BringBackV10s on Twitter or email bringbackv10s@the-race.com Join the Bring Back V10s Twitter Community
Bring Back V10s makes its regular detour into the V8 era to revisit the 2010 Korean Grand Prix - a day when Red Bull's title hopes with both Mark Webber and Sebastian Vettel seemed to disappear. Edd Straw and Karun Chandhok join Glenn Freeman to look back on a race where Webber crashed out and Vettel's engine blew, allowing Fernando Alonso to claim victory and the championship lead. Karun also recalls becoming the first driver to take an F1 car out onto the circuit - while it was still being built! GET IN TOUCH: Use the hashtag #BringBackV10s on Twitter or email bringbackv10s@the-race.com Join the Bring Back V10s Twitter Community
The 2000 Australian Grand Prix marked the start of Ferrari's dominance of the early years of the 21st century, although it took an assist from an unreliable McLaren team for Michael Schumacher to score his first win in an F1 season-opener since 1995. Matt Beer and Mark Hughes join Glenn Freeman to revisit how Schumacher got off to the perfect start, Jenson Button's rollercoaster F1 debut after much debate before the season, a bizarre spat between Eddie Irvine and McLaren, and the beginning of F1's 2000s manufacturer boom, with Honda and BMW back on the grid, Toyota waiting in the wings and Renault buying Benetton. GET IN TOUCH: Use the hashtag #BringBackV10s on Twitter or email bringbackv10s@the-race.com Join the Bring Back V10s Twitter Community
We're taking a trip back to the streets of Phoenix for the 1991 US GP, the last race that would be held in the States until 2000. Sam Smith and Gary Anderson join Glenn Freeman to reflect on a comfortable start to Ayrton Senna's final championship-winning year, and Gary shares plenty of stories about the build up to Jordan's first F1 race weekend with the stunning 191... GET IN TOUCH: Use the hashtag #BringBackV10s on Twitter or email bringbackv10s@the-race.com Join the Bring Back V10s Twitter Community
For episode one of series eight, Glenn Freeman, Edd Straw and Ben Anderson revisit Red Bull Racing's first season in F1, all the way from taking over Jaguar with a 31-year-old Christian Horner as team boss, to getting both cars in the points on debut, Red Bull buying Minardi later in the year, and the most important moment in Red Bull's F1 history: how it pulled off the signing of Adrian Newey at the end of the season.
Join the Bring Back V10s Twitter Community
Listen to the Talking Bull Podcast on 2005
Watch Red Bull's Horner & Newey Unfiltered interview
We're finishing the series with something new: a top 10 debate! Our first topic is about the best cars of the V10 era. Host Glenn Freeman and guests Edd Straw, Matt Beer and Ben Anderson all ranked every drivers' championship-winning car in F1 from 1989-2005, and our four lists were combined to create an overall ranking, which leaves plenty of room for arguments to break out - usually over the quality of a car's opposition or the standard of the drivers they took to championship success. GET IN TOUCH: Use the hashtag #BringBackV10s on Twitter or email bringbackv10s@the-race.com Did you know The Race has a brand-new app? Download it today on iOS or Android
For the penultimate episode of the series we're taking your questions about the V10 era. Host Glenn Freeman is joined by an expanded line-up, as Mark Hughes, Gary Anderson and Karun Chandhok all join the show to tackle subjects including Giancarlo Fisichella vs Fernando Alonso, Ralf Schumacher's true level, if Ford's F1 effort was worse than Toyota's, why Yamaha even bothered doing F1, the best engine of the V10 era, and how F1's modern greats would have performed if they had been around from 1989-2005. GET IN TOUCH: Use the hashtag #BringBackV10s on Twitter or email bringbackv10s@the-race.com Did you know The Race has a brand-new app? Download it today on iOS or Android
Rubens Barrichello claimed an emotional first F1 victory with an inspired decision to stay out on slick tyres as rain fell in the closing stages of the 2000 German Grand Prix. Edd Straw and Ben Anderson join host Glenn Freeman to look back at how Barrichello upset the odds to win from 18th on the grid, in a race famous for the track invader who was protesting his dismissal after 20 years of working for Mercedes-Benz. Also discussed are rising tensions between McLaren and Ferrari, Michael Schumacher's start-line tactics coming under fire, the biggest mistake of Jacques Villeneuve's F1 career, Johnny Herbert staying in F1 too long, Peugeot's decision to quit F1, the Turn 1 crash that took out Schumacher, and Jenson Button claiming the best result of his rookie season. GET IN TOUCH: Use the hashtag #BringBackV10s on Twitter or email bringbackv10s@the-race.com Did you know The Race has a brand-new app? Download it today on iOS or Android
Jean Alesi claimed his first - and only - F1 win on an emotional day at the 1995 Canadian Grand Prix, driving a Ferrari with the number 27 made famous by Gilles Villeneuve, on the circuit named after the great Canadian. Sam Smith and self-confessed Alesi fanatic Jonathan Reynolds join host Glenn Freeman to revisit that June weekend in 1995, including Alesi's ongoing spat with Martin Brundle, McLaren coming to terms with Nigel Mansell's departure and getting rid of its car's ugly mid-wing, the demise of Simtek, Jacques Villeneuve's emergence on the F1 driver market radar, a miserable weekend for Williams, clumsy incidents involving Mika Hakkinen and Gerhard Berger, Alesi finally getting some good fortune, and Jordan claiming the best result Peugeot would ever manage in F1. GET IN TOUCH: Use the hashtag #BringBackV10s on Twitter or email bringbackv10s@the-race.com Did you know The Race has a brand-new app? Download it today on iOS or Android
Mika Hakkinen made the first of two high-profile errors in Italy in 1999 at that year's San Marino Grand Prix at Imola, when he crashed out of a comfortable lead exiting the final corner early in the race. To make matters worse for McLaren, Michael Schumacher then went on to defeat the second McLaren of David Coulthard, who fumed about his treatment by backmarkers. Matt Beer and Ben Anderson join host Glenn Freeman to revisit everything that was going on in F1 in early 1999, including Honda's U-turn on its planned team for 2000, BMW hitting the track ahead of its comeback, Ford bringing an end to three decades of customer engine supply, Benetton trying to grab Charlie Whiting from the FIA, rumours of Ferrari showing interest in Jarno Trulli, Prost and Peugeot having another public falling out, Alex Zanardi's miserable F1 comeback, Jacques Villeneuve's incredible fifth on the grid for BAR, and how Schumacher and Ferrari got the better of McLaren to the delight of the tifosi. ASK US ANYTHING: Submit your questions for our series finale using #BringBackV10s on Twitter or email bringbackv10s@the-race.com
Bring Back V10s heads into the V8 era to revisit the most recent win for Williams, taken in the 2012 Spanish Grand Prix when the unforgettable Pastor Maldonado defeated home hero Fernando Alonso for victory. Edd Straw and Karun Chandhok join host Glenn Freeman to look back on a race that came during the eventful start to the 2012 season, which would eventually result in seven different drivers winning the first seven races. We look at why Williams was so quick that weekend and why it failed to repeat that form during the rest of the year, how well Maldonado drove, plus if his reputation as a crash-prone pay driver was fair. Plus we hear what it was like to be inside the Williams garage when it caught fire after the race. There's also talk about the penalty that cost Lewis Hamilton pole position, how his frustration with the team led to speculation about his future, his future team Mercedes falling out with Bernie Ecclestone in the early stages of its rise to the top, Michael Schumacher's crash with Bruno Senna that cost him pole for the next race in Monaco, plus how close Mark Webber came to signing for Ferrari for 2013, and how it could have been Kimi Raikkonen driving for Williams in 2012 as Maldonado's team-mate. ASK US ANYTHING: Submit your questions for our series finale using #BringBackV10s on Twitter or email bringbackv10s@the-race.com
Jaguar appeared to have struck gold in the summer of 2001 when it announced it had snapped up design genius Adrian Newey from McLaren. But just 13 days later, its hopes of getting one of F1's greatest ever technical minds were over. Edd Straw and former Jaguar Racing website Editor Andrew Van de Burgt revisit an incredible fortnight in the F1 news cycle, and we also hear briefly from Newey, plus insight from Bobby Rahal - the man who orchestrated what would have been one of the greatest surprise deals of the 21st century. We explore the background at both McLaren and Jaguar in late-2000 that led to the deal coming together over the early months of 2001, the importance of the friendship between Newey and Rahal that dated back to IndyCar racing in the 1980s, and how Niki Lauda played an unintended role in the deal falling apart. ASK US ANYTHING: Submit your questions for our series finale using #BringBackV10s on Twitter, or email bringbackV10s@the-race.com
Nigel Mansell's unbeaten start to the 1992 F1 season came to an end in dramatic fashion as he narrowly lost out to Ayrton Senna on the streets of Monte Carlo. Mark Hughes and Sam Smith join host Glenn Freeman to look back at a memorable weekend in Monaco, and all the other major topics in F1 at that time. As well as Mansell's heartbreak, we delve into the claims that he and Williams were too dominant early in 1992, and hear what Nigel thinks of those suggestions even today in an exclusive interview. There's also talk of comparisons between F1 and IndyCar, how Mansell's negotiations with Williams for 1993 were already looking problematic by this stage, Mika Hakkinen's change of attitude at Lotus, Ligier's decline, Damon Hill's travails in a hopeless Brabham, and talking of hopeless - Roberto Moreno's miracle performance to qualify for the race driving an Andrea Moda! ASK US ANYTHING: Submit your questions for our series finale using #BringBackV10s on Twitter, or email bringbackV10s@the-race.com
The 2003 Hungarian Grand Prix is famous for being the day Fernando Alonso took his first victory in F1, lapping Michael Schumacher in the process. Host Glenn Freeman is joined by Mark Hughes and special guest Ted Kravitz to look back on the first race held on the revised layout of the Hungaroring - which was changed in a bid to improve the racing. We also hear from Alonso himself on the importance of that first win in his emergence as a superstar during the 2000s. There's also discussion on the 2004 driver market, Juan Pablo Montoya's attempts to change his approach, Ralph Firman's unlucky run of big crashes caused by car failures at Jordan, Williams getting a grid penalty overturned for Ralf Schumacher, the role Mark Webber played in Alonso's win, and why Ferrari struggled so much during the summer of 2003. Plus a brief look at the tyre controversy that would erupt before the next round at Monza and turn the title fight on its head. ASK US ANYTHING: Submit your questions for our series finale using #BringBackV10s on Twitter or email bringbackv10s@the-race.com
Jacques Villeneuve came heartbreakingly close to winning on his F1 debut in the 1996 Australian Grand Prix, only losing out when he was told to slow down to save his engine, allowing Williams team-mate Damon Hill through for victory. Glenn Freeman is joined by Matt Beer and former Jordan F1 designer Gary Anderson to look back at F1's first weekend in Melbourne, including Villeneuve's remarkable debut, and what Gary thought when he saw his yellow Jordan fly through the air and break in half in Martin Brundle's famous first lap crash. They also discuss the impact of the post-Schumacher upheaval at Benetton, Mika Hakkinen's return to racing after his horrific Adelaide crash in 1995, a wake-up call for David Coulthard with Ron Dennis, rules controversy as two teams took a clever approach to the new-for-'96 cockpit sides, and what the paddock thought of Bridgestone's announcement it was coming to F1 to take on Goodyear - originally for 1998. Plus, we do our best to get to the bottom of the various theories behind Villeneuve's engine problem, and the myths around his dramatic Turn 1 off that is often blamed for causing the oil leak. ASK US ANYTHING: Submit your questions for our series finale using #BringBackV10s on Twitter or email bringbackv10s@the-race.com
The 2004 Belgian Grand Prix was the scene for Kimi Raikkonen's first win at the majestic Spa circuit, and it was also the day Michael Schumacher claimed his final world championship with Ferrari as he tasted defeat in a race for just the second time that season. Glenn Freeman is joined by Edd Straw and ex-McLaren mechanic Marc Priestley to look back on the weekend, where Raikkonen held off Schumacher to claim a win that had seemed impossible for McLaren earlier in the season when its original 2004 car was hopelessly off the pace. They also discuss the impact of that summer's Jenson Button contract saga, Jacques Villeneuve's bid to replace Button at BAR, the big debate over F1's rules and race format in the wake of Ferrari's dominance, Toyota's failure to make an impression despite a huge budget, Williams's dig at teams still running tobacco sponsorship, how Renault's race fell apart after running 1-2 early on, and how McLaren felt to be celebrating a first win in over a year while Ferrari and Schumacher were cementing a fifth-straight title together. ASK US ANYTHING: Submit your questions for our series finale using #BringBackV10s on Twitter or email bringbackv10s@the-race.com
Bring Back V10s returns for series 6 with the story of Michael Andretti's terrible 1993 F1 season with McLaren. Veteran journalist and author David Tremayne - who covered Andretti's campaign first hand - joins Glenn Freeman and Edd Straw to revisit why a partnership between two of the most famous names in racing went so badly wrong. Over the course of the episode we revisit how McLaren ended up signing Andretti, the doubts he had before he joined, how different his first season could have been with Honda or Renault power, his compromised pre-season, the strange free practice rule that hampered him all year, his biggest on-track regret of the campaign, growing tension with McLaren boss Ron Dennis, and some wild theories Andretti has about why things went so badly for him in F1. We also hear exclusively from Mario Andretti, Michael's father, who gives his thoughts on why it didn't work out in 1993, and what he thinks Michael could have done better or differently to improve his situation and stick around for another crack at it in 1994. READ MORE: 'Andretti's spectacular failure' - classic Sports Illustrated article ASK US ANYTHING: Submit your questions for our series finale using #BringBackV10s on Twitter or email bringbackv10s@the-race.com
The wait is nearly over - Bring Back V10s is returning for a sixth series, with more amazing stories from a golden era when F1 was loud both on track and off. This season, with the help of a great line-up of special guests, we’ll be diving deep into another hand-picked selection of fascinating topics, including Michael Andretti’s F1 nightmare with McLaren in 1993, Fernando Alonso’s first win at Hungary in 2003, the epic battle between Senna and Mansell at Monaco in 1992 and much, much more. The first episode drops on Thursday July 14th, so to make sure you don’t miss an episode be sure to like, follow or subscribe to the show in your favourite podcast app. And remember, if you’re a member of The Race Members’ Club, you can get episodes a week early and ad-free. Just go to the-race.com/membersclub to sign up. If you’d like to get in touch with the show or ask a question for later in the series, use the hashtag #BringBackV10s on Twitter, or email bringbackv10s@the-race.com
Are you interested in what makes the most sophisticated racing cars on the planet tick? Then our new podcast The Race F1 Tech Show could be for you. Each week, host Edd Straw and former F1 technical director Gary Anderson dive headfirst into the wonderful world of F1 technology, discussing the sport’s big technical talking points, getting into the nitty gritty of car design and engineering, and answering fans’ burning tech questions. So far we've had episodes on copycat F1 car designs, whether the new-for-2022 Pirelli tyres are working as planned, and this week we have an exclusive interview on the role of the race engineer, featuring Kimi Raikkonen's former right-hand man Julien Simon-Chautemps. Just search for The Race F1 Tech Show in your preferred podcast app and then like, subscribe or follow the feed to join our growing community of tech-loving F1 fans.
We finish the series with Gary Anderson and Mark Hughes joining Glenn Freeman to tackle more questions from our audience. Topics covered include: Colin McRae's Jordan test in 1996, if Toyota should have won the 2005 Belgian GP, how many championships Michael Schumacher would have won without special Bridgestone tyres in the 2000s, if Jenson Button could have won a world championship with Renault, and if Damon Hill was the greatest test and development driver of all time.
Edd Straw and Matt Beer join Glenn Freeman for the first of our two-part series finale where we answer your questions about the V10 era of F1 from 1989-2005. Topics covered include: the prospect of Nigel Mansell at Benetton in 1993-4, if Juan Pablo Montoya's F1 career was underrated, tracks that fell off the F1 calendar during this era, the fastest team-mate pairings, over- and under-achieving cars, Flavio Briatore's engine contract games and which F1 minnow would have been most deserving of a massive cash injection.
The 1990 Mexican Grand Prix is famous for Alain Prost’s greatest F1 victory, and one of Nigel Mansell’s greatest overtakes. Edd Straw and Sam Smith join Glenn Freeman to look back at all the major talking points from that race and everything going on in F1 at the time, including speculation over Ayrton Senna’s future, the mysterious Mexican F1 team that never was, the use of ‘antisocial’ fuel chemicals in F1, Leyton House hitting rock bottom, and Gerhard Berger’s ‘ugly’ overtake that set the scene for Mansell’s famous revenge.
SPECIAL GUEST: TED KRAVITZ! The 2005 San Marino Grand Prix will always be remembered for Michael Schumacher’s thrilling pursuit of Fernando Alonso in the closing stages of the race. Current Sky F1 pitlane reporter Ted Kravitz joins Glenn Freeman and Mark Hughes to look back on a memorable weekend that also featured BAR’s exclusion and a ban for cheating, McLaren unlocking the pace of what would become 2005’s fastest car, tension between Jacques Villeneuve and Sauber, and Red Bull’s early moves off track to establish itself as a credible contender in F1. With Ted's help, and insight from Mark who was in the commentary box that weekend, we also get to the bottom of ITV’s controversial late-race ad break that caused so much uproar with UK viewers.
Alain Prost’s on-off saga over possibly buying the Ligier Formula 1 team finally resulted in the four-time world champion taking over the French outfit and renaming it Prost Grand Prix just before the start of the 1997 season. Karun Chandhok and Matt Beer join Glenn Freeman to look back at the team’s first year under its new identity, where things started off so well. We explore what could have been possible had Olivier Panis not broken his legs at the Canadian Grand Prix, the fluctuating form of the team and stand-in driver Jarno Trulli, a falling out with Damon Hill, and how the signs were already showing that this was as good as it would get for Prost’s team.ASK US ANYTHING: Get your questions in about F1 from 1989-2005 using #BringBackV10s on Twitter or email bringbackv10s@the-race.com
The 1989 Portuguese Grand Prix will forever be remembered for Nigel Mansell getting black flagged, having a collision with Ayrton Senna, then being banned for the following race. Sam Smith and Andrew van de Burgt join Glenn Freeman to discuss that huge controversy in great detail, as well as everything else that was going on in F1 around that time, including tension between Alain Prost and McLaren-Honda, Williams bringing a new car out so late in the season, Onyx firing one of its drivers and getting a memorable underdog podium, plus the only lap in F1 that was ever led by a Minardi.ASK US ANYTHING: Get your questions in for our series finale using #BringBackV10s on Twitter or email bringbackv10s@the-race.com
It’s a Bring Back V8s special! Mark Hughes and Edd Straw join Glenn Freeman to reflect on one of the most memorable races from F1’s V8 era, where Robert Kubica took the only win of his F1 career. We also discuss Lewis Hamilton’s blunder in the pitlane, Fernando Alonso’s talks with Honda, the incoming rule changes for 2009, and if BMW threw away a chance of fighting for the world championship with Kubica over the rest of 2008.We also revisit early speculation about Kimi Raikkonen's F1 future, the paddock's reaction to Max Mosley winning an FIA vote of confidence, how yet another flexi-wing controversy was stamped out, and if Nick Heidfeld should have been willing to sacrifice a BMW 1-2 to chase victory for himself.ASK US ANYTHING: Submit your questions about anything to do from F1's V10 era from 1989-2005 by using #BringBackV10s on Twitter or email bringbackv10s@the-race.com
One year on from his memorable debut for Jordan, Michael Schumacher returned to Spa to claim the first of his 91 F1 victories with Benetton. F1 journalist and author David Tremayne joins Glenn Freeman and Edd Straw to share his stories and recollections from being at Spa that weekend, witnessing Schumacher’s breakout win and why it felt special at the time. We also revisit the chaos that had broken out in the driver market over that summer, as Nigel Mansell, Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost were at the centre of a brewing controversy over Williams’s driver line-up for 1993.We also look back at Sauber's preparations to join the grid in 1993 with help from Mercedes, why Toyota backed out of a possible 1990s F1 entry, Senna's famous rescue of Erik Comas during practice, and if this was a race win that got away for Martin Brundle.ASK US ANYTHING: Get your questions in about F1 from 1989-2005 for our season finale using #BringBackV10s on Twitter or email bringbackv10s@the-race.com
The 1994 German Grand Prix was a memorable weekend for F1 on track, in the paddock and even in the pitlane. Glenn Freeman is joined by Edd Straw and longtime F1 journalist Tony Dodgins – who was at Hockenheim that weekend – to discuss everything from Ferrari’s first win since 1990, Jos Verstappen’s terrifying pitstop fire, and Benetton’s mysterious ‘Option 13’ driver aids controversy.We also look back at the latest rule changes introduced ahead of the race - including the debut of the 'plank' under the cars, tension behind the scenes at Ferrari as the Jean Todt era took hold, plus how the ban Mika Hakkinen picked up from this race potentially changed how he raced for the rest of his career. ASK US ANYTHING: Get your questions in for our series finale using #BringBackV10s on Twitter or email bringbackV10s@the-race.com
Williams’s slide down the F1 pecking order in the 2000s began with the infamous ‘Walrus’ nose design it started the year with in 2004. Jonathan Williams and Karun Chandhok join Glenn Freeman to reflect on the memorable but ultimately unsuccessful design, which was ditched mid-season. We look into why the team tried it, why it didn’t work, and the upheaval Williams was going through behind the scenes, with both drivers moving on for 2005, a major technical shake-up inside the team, and growing tension with BMW. ASK US ANYTHING: Get your questions in about F1's V10 era using #BringBackV10s on Twitter or email bringbackV10s@the-race.com
The 2001 Spanish Grand Prix was a day to forget for McLaren. Not only did Mika Hakkinen lose victory by breaking down on the final lap, but team boss Ron Dennis landed himself in hot water with David Coulthard by incorrectly suggesting the Scot suffered 'brain fade' when his car stalled on the grid. Mark Hughes and Matt Beer join Glenn Freeman to reflect on those stories plus everything else that was going on in F1 at the time, including the return of driver aids, Jaguar's struggles, Flavio Briatore vs Jenson Button, Juan Pablo Montoya's breakthrough and BAR's first podium.ASK US ANYTHING: Get your questions in for our series finale using #BringBackV10s on Twitter, or email bringbackv10s@the-race.com
Bring Back V10s returns for series five, and for the first time we are dipping into 1998. Gary Anderson and Edd Straw join host Glenn Freeman to discuss all the major storylines going on in F1 in the summer of 1998, and the bizarre set of circumstances that led to Michael Schumacher coming into the pits at the end of the final lap to serve a penalty - which he only took after he'd crossed the timing line to complete the race. We also discuss tension behind the scenes at McLaren, why Williams was struggling in its first year without works Renault engines or an Adrian Newey-designed car, a team orders row at Sauber, and how Jordan kickstarted its season with Ralf Schumacher scoring its first point of the year from the back of the grid. ASK US ANYTHING: Get your questions in for our series finale episodes using #BringBackV10s on Twitter, or email bringbackV10s@the-race.com
To mark the death of legendary F1 team boss Sir Frank Williams, we've added our tribute episode from The Race F1 Podcast to our Bring Back V10s feed. Veteran F1 journalist David Tremayne joins Edd Straw and Glenn Freeman to reflect on Frank's life, and the mark he made in the sport. The fifth series of Bring Back V10s will launch in early-January - see you then!
Series four of Bring Back V10s ends with us taking more questions from our audience. Edd Straw and Matt Beer join Glenn Freeman to tackle topics including what would have happened if Juan Pablo Montoya and Jacques Villeneuve were team-mates at Williams, which Hockenheim layout was best, how Michael Andretti would have got on at Ferrari rather than McLaren, the prospect of Ayrton Senna and Michael Schumacher as team-mates, the 107% rule, how good Luca Badoer really was, McLaren vs Williams in 1991, plus the best and worst seasons of the V10 era and much much more.
Gary Anderson and Mark Hughes join Glenn Freeman for the first of our two-part Bring Back V10s series finale, where we’re taking questions submitted by our audience. Topics for this episode include: Mika Hakkinen vs Michael Schumacher, the loophole Williams and Jordan exploited in the 1996 head protection regulations, grooved tyres, why V10s took over in F1, Ferrari’s brief disqualification from the 1999 Malaysian Grand Prix, Flavio Briatore’s impact on F1, and why Mark doesn’t rank Alain Prost as one of his top F1 drivers of all time.
British American Racing arrived in F1 talking of fighting for wins and championships... then it finished bottom of the standings with no points in its first season. So how did a team with a huge budget, a star driver and a famous technical partner get it so wrong?Edd Straw and Sam Smith join host Glenn Freeman to look back on the entire story of BAR's miserable first season, starting with the team's controversial attempt to race with two separate liveries for its cars, which resulted in an immediate falling out with the FIA. With insight from technical guru Adrian Reynard, we delve into why the car was so unreliable, the politics behind the scenes that threatened to tear the team apart, why its massive budget still wasn't big enough, landing Honda engines for 2000, how its mechanics earned respect after both cars were destroyed in qualifying at Spa, more internal politics, how boss Craig Pollock tried to incentivise team members to help the team score just a single point, and the fallout that occurred in the boardroom when that mission failed.
Bring Back V10s takes a detour into the V8 era to look back at the 'Multi 21' controversy between Red Bull team-mates Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber at the 2013 Malaysian Grand Prix.Edd Straw and Karun Chandhok join host Glenn Freeman to revisit the last big falling out between Vettel and Webber, and analyse how all the key parties involved handled it. Beyond the Red Bull controversy, we also look at all the other stories from F1 in early 2013, from Kimi Raikkonen's brief championship lead with Lotus, to Pirelli's fragile tyres, the start of McLaren's downturn with its disappointing new car, Williams's struggles, Lewis Hamilton's start to life at Mercedes, plus rumours that he wanted to sign for Red Bull in 2013.We also look back at the other team orders situation that developed late in the race and was overshadowed by events at Red Bull, with Mercedes chief Ross Brawn issuing strict orders to Nico Rosberg to stay behind Hamilton, which the German reluctantly agreed to.ASK US ANYTHING: Submit your questions about anything to do with F1 from 1989-2005 using #BringBackV10s on Twitter, or email bringbackv10s@the-race.com
Special guest Perry McCarthy joins host Glenn Freeman and Edd Straw to recall what it was like being part of the shambolic Andrea Moda F1 team that appeared in 1992. We revisit how the team ended up joining F1, why it was thrown out of the first race it turned up to, having to change cars for just its second race, failing to get to that event in time to take part, sacking its first two drivers, signing McCarthy and Roberto Moreno as its new line-up, how Moreno miraculously qualified for the Monaco Grand Prix, why Andrea Moda then missed the following two races, how it got in more trouble with the authorities as the season wore on, before its tale came to an abrupt end when team owner Andrea Sassetti was arrested in the paddock in Belgium and the team was banned from F1 a week later.McCarthy gives his account of several haphazard moments from his time with the team, including losing his licence seven hours after he'd been given it, how Bernie Ecclestone helped him get it back, arriving for his first pre-qualifying session after a mad dash out of the centre of Barcelona, nearly being set on fire, then breaking down as soon as he crossed the pit exit line, barely running at most GP weekends as the team focused on Moreno, the team failing to tell him it hadn't made it to the French Grand Prix, being made to run used wets on a dry track at his home race, having to be held back from attacking Sassetti after the team sent him out too late to complete a lap in Hungary, how that cost him an opportunity with Footwork-Arrows, nearly crashing into Nigel Mansell at Spa, and a terrifying experience when he realised there was something wrong with his car as he got to Eau Rouge - which it turned out the team knew about in advance...ASK US ANYTHING: Submit your questions for our series finale, where you can ask us anything about F1 from 1989-2005. Use #BringBackV10s on Twitter, email bringbackv10s@the-race.com, or submit a question in a five-star podcast review if you think we deserve it!
The 2003 Brazilian Grand Prix will forever be remembered as a race of chaos where the wrong driver was declared the winner straight after the race.Mark Hughes and Gary Anderson join host Glenn Freeman to revisit their memories of being at Interlagos that day, including Gary's first-hand account of how Jordan pulled off its shock victory with Giancarlo Fisichella in one of the slowest cars on the grid. We also look at Ferrari's rocky start to 2003, how McLaren was leading the championship with an updated 2002 car, why Williams hadn't hit the ground running yet, the debate around F1's sweeping rule changes for the new season including one-shot qualifying, the FIA getting tough with implementing the HANS device, Jordan's 200th race, why Michael Schumacher was a fan of driver aids, how Gary upset Ross Brawn with a suggestion made to Charlie Whiting before the delayed start to the race, the difference between Michelin and Bridgestone's intermediate tyres, why no teams had full wets for the awful conditions, what caused the car park of crashed cars at Turn 3, where Jordan's clever strategy might have put Fisichella without the huge accidents that ended the race early, and why there was so much confusion over which driver had won the race - which didn't become official until five days later! ASK US ANYTHING: Get your questions in about F1 from 1989-2005 for our series finale using #BringBackV10s on Twitter or email bringbackv10s@the-race.com
Nigel Mansell made a shock return to Formula 1 with Williams in 1994, appearing at four races following the death of Ayrton Senna.Ex-F1 driver Karun Chandhok and Edd Straw join host Glenn Freeman to look back on everything that happened on and off-track around Mansell's cameo, from the challenge presented by Mansell's Newman/Haas Indycar contract, Bernie Ecclestone's involvement, the role of Renault and title sponsor Rothmans in Mansell coming back, how his return was viewed inside the team, what lead driver and title contender Damon Hill thought of it, tension between Mansell and David Coulthard as they battled over a seat for 1995, and why Williams eventually chose to stick with Coulthard, despite having an option in its contract to retain Mansell full-time. ASK US ANYTHING: Send us your questions about F1 from 1989-2005 for our series finale, using #BringBackV10s on Twitter, or email bringbackv10s@the-race.com
Jarno Trulli's only F1 win was utterly convincing, as he claimed the 2004 Monaco Grand Prix from pole position. But this was an eventful few days on and off track for F1, as Mark Hughes and Scott Mitchell discuss with host Glenn Freeman.As well as Trulli's heroics, we look back on Takuma Sato's engine blowing up in front of the whole field, a war of words between Fernando Alonso and Ralf Schumacher, plus the controversial collision between Michael Schumacher and Juan Pablo Montoya... in the tunnel... behind the safety car! Off track there were plenty of stories in the news, including rumours of Williams discussing a 2005 seat with out-of-work Jacques Villeneuve, another war of words for Ralf Schumacher - this time with Patrick Head from his own team, the latest on McLaren's much-needed B-spec to its horrible 2004 car, why Toyota offended David Coulthard, plus a huge amount of discussion about F1's future rules packages and the unpopular tweak made to the one-shot qualifying format for 2004. Plus the small matter of Jaguar supposedly losing a $300,000 diamond from one of its cars in a crash.ASK US ANYTHING: Submit your questions about anything to do with F1 from 1989-2005 for our series finale, using #BringBackV10s on Twitter, or email bringbackv10s@the-race.com
The 1989 San Marino Grand Prix at Imola was the setting for the first proper eruption of the war between Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost. But the circumstances that led to the McLaren team-mates no longer speaking to each other only came about on that day because of a restart after Gerhard Berger's horrifying fireball accident that the Austrian was lucky to survive.Edd Straw and Sam Smith join Glenn Freeman to discuss all the major talking points in F1 from just the second race of the V10 era, including McLaren's eight-day test in reaction to failing to win the first race of the year, why some teams were still running old cars, the shock failure to qualify of Michele Alboreto in the only new Tyrrell at the race, Birmingham's plans to host a grand prix, Johnny Herbert's wake-up call that made him realise an F1 career wasn't going to be straightforward, rumours of Yamaha exploring F1 for Toyota, plus an in-depth look at Berger's crash and the fallout from the Senna vs Prost rivalry kicking into overdrive.ASK US ANYTHING: Get your questions in about anything to do with F1 from 1989-2005 for our series finale, either by using #BringBackV10s on Twitter or contacting bringbackv10s@the-race.com
The 2002 French Grand Prix will forever be remembered as the day Michael Schumacher made history by equalling the great Juan Manuel Fangio's then-record of five Formula 1 world championships. But it so nearly went down in F1 folklore as the scene of Kimi Raikkonen's maiden victory. Gary Anderson and Mark Hughes join Glenn Freeman to recall their memories from being at Magny-Cours that weekend. As well as hearing Gary's first-hand insight from a dramatic weekend for Jordan - which included almost bringing back Heinz-Harald Frentzen as a last-minute stand-in one year on from him being fired by the team - we look back on the beginning of the end for Arrows, why Ferrari was so dominant in 2002, what made Williams so fast on Saturdays and so underwhelming on Sundays, how Jenson Button lost his Renault drive and ended up at BAR for 2003, and the controversy surrounding Schumacher's pass for the win as Raikkonen slid wide on oil - which almost resulted in a McLaren protest after the race. ASK US ANYTHING: Get your questions in for our series finale by using #BringBackV10s on Twitter to ask us about anything you like to do with F1 from 1989-2005. Or leave us a five-star podcast review and submit a question there too!
Michael Schumacher's move to Ferrari for 1996 changed F1 forever. In this episode Karun Chandhok and Matt Beer join host Glenn Freeman to revisit what was going on in the F1 driver market during 1995, when Schumacher resisted offers to drive a faster car or for more money to take on the project of rebuilding Ferrari. We also look at the other drivers affected by his move, from those who had to wait for Schumacher to decide his future before they could sort their drives out for 1996, to the ones who turned down opportunities to be his team-mate before Eddie Irvine got the drive. We then follow the start of Schumacher's life at Ferrari all the way from a tense first meeting with car designer John Barnard, through winter testing, the late arrival of an ugly and unreliable car, to a Ferrari debut that offered more promise than had been expected when the F1 world set off for Australia in March 1996. ASK US ANYTHING: Get your questions in about anything in F1 from 1989-2005 for our series finale episodes using #BringBackV10s on Twitter, or email bringbackv10s@the-race.com
Bring Back V10s returns for series 4! We're kicking off by looking back at how Fernando Alonso got his break in F1, driving the slowest car on the grid. Mark Hughes and Edd Straw join host Glenn Freeman to revisit how Alonso took the backmarker team to heights that couldn't have been expected, embarrassing more established drivers and teams along the way. We also look at how close Minardi came to not racing in 2001, Alonso's two-seater F1 crash with Nigel Mansell (!), and why Renault took him off the F1 grid for the following season.ASK US ANYTHING: Get your questions in for our series finale about anything to do with F1 from 1989-2005 using #BringBackV10s on Twitter, or email bringbackV10s@the-race.com
For this special episode, we've partnered up with F1TV to discuss 10 classic F1 races from the Bring Back V10s era of 1989-2005 that we think you should go back and watch on the F1TV app. Host Glenn Freeman is joined by Edd Straw, Mark Hughes and Matt Beer to discuss the races we picked, as well as selections nominated by The Race Members' Club.To find out more about F1TV, visit: https://prf.hn/click/camref:1101lfU7e
The final episode of series three of Bring Back V10s tackles more of the questions submitted by our audience. Edd Straw and Matt Beer join host Glenn Freeman to discuss a weird and wonderful range of topics.Prepare to be taken on a journey that includes Damon Hill staying at Williams in 1997, McLaren Mugen-Honda, Gerhard Berger vs Jean Alesi, underrated liveries from the V10 era, Juan Pablo Montoya's doomed McLaren stint, Stephane Sarrazin's one-off F1 appearance, Michael Schumacher's 1999 British GP accident, unraced cars, Ligier's survival against the odds, Hakkinen vs Schumacher... at McLaren... the best and worst engines, pre-qualifying teams that deserved better, Paul Tracy's 1994 Benetton test and much more. Bring Back V10s will return later in 2021 with a fourth series - thanks to everyone for enjoying the show, leaving us reviews and getting in touch on social media using #BringBackV10s!
Bring Back V10s returns to see out series three with the first episode from our double-header finale. Gary Anderson and Mark Hughes join host Glenn Freeman to work through the first batch of your questions that we chose from over 120 that were submitted. Get ready for conversations about Justin Wilson and Valentino Rossi, the idea of Damon Hill or Nigel Mansell at Jordan in 1997, Mark Webber's career choices, how V10 engines were progressing once F1 outlawed them, Giancarlo Fisichella's shock Brazil 2003 victory, Ferrari's F2002 vs F2004... vs Williams FW14B, Williams's fall from grace in 1998, Jordan's revolving door of drivers in 1993, accusations of Ligier's copycat 'Benetton' design in 1995, and if Mika Hakkinen could have made a McLaren comeback in 2003. We even find a way to talk about Gilles Villeneuve!
Bring Back V10s pays tribute to legendary commentator Murray Walker, following his death at the age of 97. Mark Hughes, Edd Straw and Simon Arron join host Glenn Freeman to reflect on the key moments from Murray's time in Formula 1, and what made him so special to those inside the F1 paddock as well as the millions of fans watching at home.
Kimi Raikkonen won the 2005 Japanese Grand Prix with a daring final lap pass, a fitting end to an afternoon full of drama at Suzuka. This episode of Bring Back V10s is brought to you by F1 Experiences, the Official Experience, Hospitality and Travel Programme of Formula 1. To find out more and to book your own F1 Experience, visit https://f1experiences.com/Former McLaren mechanic Marc Priestley joins Mark Hughes and host Glenn Freeman to look back on a thrilling race, where a mixed up grid created action from start to finish. We look back at how Raikkonen charged from 17th to win, how Fernando Alonso starred from the back too in a race he could have won - but he had to settle for being remembered for passing Michael Schumacher around the outside of the fearsome 130R corner. We also look at the decision from race control that Renault and Alonso believed cost him the win, and how his team-mate Giancarlo Fisichella blew his chance to win as he wilted under pressure from Raikkonen. There's also a look back at the incident that put Juan Pablo Montoya out of the race in the other McLaren, plus how Takuma Sato got himself disqualified on the weekend news first broke of a new team being set up for him to race for in 2006. We get the inside story on how Super Aguri was born, from one of the key men at the centre of setting the team up. There's also a look at tyre and qualifying rule changes that were coming for the following season, and why Bridgestone didn't need those changes, even though the one-race tyre rules of 2005 had hindered the company and Ferrari so badly. And by this stage of 2005, there was already plenty of speculation about Raikkonen racing for Ferrari in 2007. We get to the bottom of where those talks had got to by this stage, and find out from Marc when Kimi finally told his mechanics that he was leaving. ASK US ANYTHING: Get your questions in about F1's V10 era from 1989-2005 by using #BringBackV10s on Twitter, or by leaving us a five-star review and submitting a question there too!
The 1997 European Grand Prix produced one of F1's most exciting championship deciders, with the destiny of the title coming down to a controversial collision between Jacques Villeneuve and Michael Schumacher. Karun Chandhok and Jonathan Williams join Glenn Freeman to revisit a memorable weekend in F1 history, where drama and controversy were never far away. We look back at Villeneuve racing under appeal in the previous race in Japan, and Williams's decision to drop that appeal against his one-race ban. Then there was Villeneuve's plan to repeatedly mention his fear of being taken out by Schumacher ahead of the race, and his fallout with Eddie Irvine in the pits during practice. We look back at the three-way dead heat in qualifying, and ask if Damon Hill's Arrows should have taken pole that day. The race is revisited in great detail, from Villeneuve's bad start, Heinz-Harald Frentzen's team play for Williams, Norberto Fontana's eventual confession about holding Villeneuve up, and where an agreement between Williams and McLaren fit into how the race played out. We then take an in-depth look at the collision and Schumacher's failed attempt to take Villeneuve out, and Jonathan tells a hilarious story of how Frentzen reacted on the radio when he saw the accident take place ahead of him. From there, we get Patrick Head's side of the story on the agreement between McLaren and Williams, as well as finding out why Jonathan was collared by Ron Dennis early in the race, the arguments that were taking place on the radio between McLaren and David Coulthard over letting Mika Hakkinen through to take his first win, the backlash Schumacher faced from inside Ferrari and Italy, and if the FIA made the right decisions with its punishment of the Ferrari driver and deciding not to take action against Williams and McLaren. There's also a bonus story about Jordan and Nigel Mansell from the previous winter, the revelation of McLaren's mystery extra brake pedal, and Gerhard Berger's decision to retire from F1 after a fractious year that involved Flavio Briatore trying to prevent him returning after missing races in the middle of the year.ASK US ANYTHING: Submit your questions about anything to do with F1 from 1989-2005 by using #BringBackV10s on Twitter, or by leaving us a five-star review!
Johnny Herbert joins Bring Back V10s to revisit the final year of Lotus in 1994, when the team sadly bowed out of F1 without even scoring a point. Herbert, Glenn Freeman and Edd Straw go through Lotus's entire final season in great detail, from starting the year with a C-spec version of its 1992 car, with an ageing "dumbell" of an engine, which was finally replaced at the Italian Grand Prix - where Johnny famously qualified fourth. Johnny and Edd both offer their theories on where he could have finished that day at Monza, were it not for a heartbreaking punt from Eddie Irvine at the start. The following day Lotus went into administration. We also look at McLaren's attempts to sign Johnny at the start of 1994, how the team was affected by its own incidents on F1's horrific Imola weekend, and Johnny recounts in amazing detail what he encountered when he arrived at the scene of team-mate Pedro Lamy's terrifying airborne accident in testing at Silverstone shortly after the San Marino GP. He also explains why even the new Lotus 109 wasn't any fun to drive, and how Lotus's miserable season left him not even wanting to drive the car. Eventually Johnny was snapped up by Ligier and then Benetton, but he watched from afar as Lotus limped on without him, before it was bought by David Hunt, who had to shut the team down a month later. ASK US ANYTHING: Get your questions in for our series finale - ask us anything about F1 from 1989-2005 by using #BringBackV10s on Twitter!
SPECIAL GUEST: Kimi Raikkonen's Sauber engineer from 2001 - Jacky Eeckelaert! Sauber made waves over the winter of 2000-01 when it decided to sign a young Finn straight out of Formula Renault, with only 23 car races to his name. In the space of 12 months Kimi Raikkonen went from testing an F1 car for the first time - and impressing Michael Schumacher in the process - to signing for McLaren to replace two-time world champion Mika Hakkinen. Jacky Eeckelaert shares stories from inside Sauber, from the moment the team first gave Raikkonen a run-out at Mugello, to all the fuss about him being granted a superlicence - and why FIA president Max Mosley voted against it. Jacky also explains how big a mark Raikkonen made from the first time he sat in an F1 car, why Sauber never had any doubts about him being ready for F1 despite his lack of experience, how quickly he settled in during his rookie season - plus the story of how he tried to reattach his steering wheel when it came off at Imola, and kept his foot flat on the accelerator the whole time while doing so!We then plot the inevitability of Raikkonen's departure from Sauber just one year into a three-year deal, as McLaren and Ferrari went to battle for his services. Mark Hughes joins Jacky and host Glenn Freeman to explain what made Raikkonen stand out as soon as he joined the F1 grid, and why choosing silver over red was the right move for 2002. We also look at the other McLaren-contracted drivers who thought they were in with a shot of that drive, including one man who was told the seat was his before Raikkonen signed! ASK US ANYTHING: Get your questions in for our series finale on anything to do with F1 from 1989-2005 by using #BringBackV10s on Twitter, or leave us a five-star podcast review and ask your question there!
Lola's brief attempt at joining the F1 grid in 1997 is one of the most famous failures in recent F1 history. In this episode of Bring Back V10s, Sam Smith and Edd Straw join Glenn Freeman to revisit how this famous British car constructor got things so badly wrong when it finally tried to enter its own team. We look back at Lola's long-running ambition to enter F1 itself after building cars for other teams in the past, and why it kept stretching its own deadline for an entry for 1997. It's well known that title sponsor MasterCard forced the team to enter at the last minute - but why was the credit card company so insistent that it had to be '97 rather than Lola's preferred path to an entry in '98? There's also the stories of why the car was so bad, what it felt like to drive, why Lola thought it could design its own V10 engine on a fraction of the budget spent by major manufacturers, what happened when the T97/30 was finally put in a windtunnel, the drastic changes Lola considered making during the embarrassing Australian GP weekend, and how alterations were made for the second race of the year that would have made the car even slower if the team hadn't closed just before that Brazilian GP weekend. ASK US ANYTHING: Submit your question for our series finale about anything to do with F1 from 1989-2005 by either using #BringBackV10s or leaving us a 5-star podcast review!
The 1991 Canadian Grand Prix is well remembered for Nigel Mansell stopping on the final lap after waving to the crowd. But what actually happened? We look back at the theories around his car grinding to a halt - with a little help from legendary Williams technical director Patrick Head - and reflect on the explanations Mansell and Adrian Newey have given over the years as well. Through the rest of the episode, we look at why Williams's cars kept breaking down in early-1991, the moment McLaren realised its car and engine was no match for the the Newey-Head-designed Williams-Renault FW14, how Mansell upset Renault when he rejoined the team, and why he thought his title chances were over so early in the year. We also look at the fortunes of the race-winning Benetton team, from its ambitious plans to run a V12 Ford engine in 1992, to the political wrangling behind the scenes that led to the acrimonious departure of design icon John Barnard - and why Barnard had told Ayrton Senna not to join the team! We also revisit the Ferrari upheaval of 1991 from a different perspective to the Alain Prost side of the story we've previously covered, and look at how Johnny Herbert's long awaited full-time return to F1 reduced him to tears on his first weekend back with Lotus. Plus there's talk on a significant weekend in Jordan's F1 history, why Riccardo Patrese looked so good against Mansell at this stage of the year, and how F1 driving standards and reliability have changed from 30 years ago to today. ASK US ANYTHING: Get your questions in about anything to do with F1 from 1989-2005 by using #BringBackV10s on Twitter - or leave us a 5-star review if you think we deserve it and ask a question there!
SPECIAL GUEST: Mike Gascoyne! Former Jordan technical director Mike Gascoyne joins Glenn Freeman and Edd Straw for a look back at Jordan's second F1 win in the 1999 French Grand Prix. We'll hear stories of what made the team's '99 car a step up from the 198 that won at Spa the previous season, what was happening on the pit wall (and a few miles away in a French field) that was key to Heinz-Harald Frentzen's victory, and the despair Damon Hill was going through on the other side of the garage as he realised his time was up in F1. Away from Jordan, we also discuss Eddie Irvine speaking out about team orders at Ferrari, BAR's forgettable start to life in F1 and who Jacques Villeneuve and Craig Pollock felt was responsible for it, Alain Prost putting the pressure on Peugeot on home turf, why various teams misjudged the conditions in qualifying to create a mixed-up grid, how McLaren could have dominated the race, the mysterious problem that almost forced Frentzen to retire in the closing stages, why Mika Hakkinen couldn't catch the Jordan on fresh tyres after a late stop, the problems that ruled Michael Schumacher out of the battle for victory and how a decision Ferrari took that day potentially cost Eddie Irvine the title at the end of the year, plus why Ralf Schumacher felt this race was his best drive in F1. ASK US ANYTHING: Submit your questions about anything to do with F1 from 1989-2005 by using #BringBackV10s on Twitter, or by leaving us a 5-star podcast review!
Alain Prost won the 1989 French Grand Prix, but was what was far more significant that weekend was his announcement that he was leaving McLaren at the end of the year. Edd Straw and Sam Smith join Glenn Freeman to discuss everything that was going on in F1 early in our Bring Back V10s era, from the driver market ramifications of Prost's decision, how toxic his relationship with Ayrton Senna was by this point in the year, why Tyrrell needed a new driver at short notice and how Eddie Jordan played hardball before releasing Jean Alesi, Mauricio Gugelmin's explanation of the huge pile-up he triggered at the start, why Johnny Herbert was dropped by Benetton, Onyx's plan to get a 'star driver' and Porsche engines, plus how Nigel Mansell charged from an unexpected pitlane start to finish on the podium. ASK US ANYTHING: Submit your questions about anything to do with F1 from 1989-2005 using #BringBackV10s on Twitter
Michael Schumacher put in one of his greatest F1 drives on home soil in 1995, snatching victory from Jean Alesi's Ferrari in the closing stages after bringing down a gap that at one stage was more than 40 seconds. Edd Straw and Matt Beer join Glenn Freeman to look back at all the stories going on in F1 back in late-'95: starting with a team orders debate at Williams, how Eddie Jordan sold Eddie Irvine to Ferrari and made himself some money in the process, why Alain Prost tested for McLaren around this time, why Tyrrell plucked Gabriele Tarquini from touring cars to make a one-off final F1 appearance, how Jacques Villeneuve's imminent arrival from Indycar with Williams was being perceived after Michael Andretti's McLaren disaster in 1993, why Jean Alesi and Gerhard Berger both fell out with Ferrari management, how good the 1995 Williams really was (and how well Nigel Mansell could have done with it). Then getting into the race we look at how Alesi got himself into such a huge lead, Schumacher's bizarre strategy, the incidents both had with Hill during the race, and the significance of Hill's crash amid the personal battles he was trying to deal with during a difficult season. And of course we finish up by looking at how Schumacher hunted Alesi down, and if the Ferrari driver could have done anything to prevent the Benetton snatching the win in the closing laps. ASK US ANYTHING: Submit your questions about anything to do with F1 from 1989-2005 using #BringBackV10s on Twitter, and we'll answer as many as we can in our series finale.
SPECIAL GUEST: David RichardsFormer BAR team principal David Richards joins Glenn Freeman and Scott Mitchell to kick off series three of Bring Back V10s with an in-depth look at Jenson Button's superb 2004 season. We revisit how Richards changed the culture at BAR, which had underperformed ever since its arrival in 1999, the effect of Jacques Villeneuve's departure at the end of 2003 (and how he tried to come back!, why the 2004 BAR was such a big step from its predecessor, how Button led the team into its new era, his standout performances (and why his Imola pole means more to him than his first podium), plus BAR's slight downturn in results during the summer. That part of the season leads us into a big part of this episode - and one of our most requested topics: Button's attempt to leave BAR for 2005 to join Williams! Richards explains the team's side of that controversy, and why he fought so hard against Button's wishes to leave. We also look at how the partnership kept performing on track while that was going on in the background, and what both sides made of it after Button was ordered to stay - plus the news at the end of the year that Honda was buying into BAR, and Richards was moved aside. ASK US ANYTHING: Get your questions in about anything to do with F1 from 1989-2005 using #BringBackV10s on Twitter for our series finale.
A festive present from Bring Back V10s: We receive plenty of requests to talk about the V8 era of F1 from 2006-2013, so for a one-off special, we've taken questions about those years from our readers on the-race.com. Mark Hughes and Edd Straw, who covered this era from inside the paddock, join Glenn Freeman to answer questions ranging from Michael Schumacher staying with Ferrari beyond 2006 all the way through to Lewis Hamilton's move from McLaren to Mercedes for 2013. Along the way we stop off at some of the biggest stories of the era, including the 2007 McLaren spy scandal, Brawn GP, Felipe Massa's recovery from his 2009 accident, Mark Webber vs Sebastian Vettel at Red Bull, what Fernando Alonso could have done at Lotus in 2012-13 and much much more. Series 3 of Bring Back V10s launches on January 7. Get your questions in for our series finale where you can ask us anything about F1 from 1989-2005 using #BringBackV10s on Twitter!
Series two of Bring Back V10s ends with us taking more of your questions about anything to do with F1 from 1989-2005. Edd Straw and Karun Chandhok return to tackle subjects including Damon Hill's prospects if he'd signed for McLaren in 1998, memorable backmarker drivers and teams, the fortunes of Ferrari and Benetton before and after Michael Schumacher's switch for 1996, what would have happened if Nigel Mansell stayed at Williams for 1993, Eddie Irvine's 1999 title push, over- and under-achievers in the era, the heyday of CART/Indycar racing in the 1990s, why Alain Prost didn't come back to replace Ayrton Senna in 1994, and most importantly to host Glenn Freeman, there's a debate about Jacques Villeneuve's best season in F1!
It's nearly the end of our second series, and once again we were overloaded with questions for our final episode... so we've split it into two parts! Gary Anderson and Mark Hughes join Glenn Freeman to get stuck into subjects ranging from Dario Franchitti's doomed Jaguar test, what convinced Ferrari to ditch V12s for V10s (yay!), why Michael Schumacher rejected a bigger offer from McLaren to sign for Ferrari, McLaren's brilliant-but-fragile MP4-20, Ayrton Senna being offered 49% of Jordan, Heinz-Harald Frentzen at Williams, the demise of Arrows and much more.
For the final regular episode of series 2 of Bring Back V10s we're revisiting the most-requested topic we've had since the show started: The shambolic six-car US GP of 2005. Special guest Dieter Gass - currently head of Audi Motorsport but previously Toyota's chief race and test engineer - joins Glenn Freeman and Mark Hughes to explain what was going on behind the scenes at the race, and how Toyota's problems and a big crash for Ralf Schumacher were the first signs that something serious was going wrong. We also hear from podium finisher Tiago Monteiro on why he celebrated when Ferrari drivers Michael Schumacher and Rubens Barrichello didn't, and get ready to hear how a swearing Kimi Raikkonen reacted when Ron Dennis told him he wouldn't be racing - all overheard by former McLaren mechanic Marc Priestley as he strapped Kimi in on the grid! We also look at why the various solutions put forward to salvage the event didn't work out, why Jordan and Minardi broke ranks after initially standing alongside the Michelin teams, why the tyre problems hadn't struck in previous years at Indy, plus the fallout after the event and why the FIA eventually decided not to take matters any further.
Mika Hakkinen joins us to look back at one of his most famous battles with Michael Schumacher, which was decided by an iconic overtake in the closing stages. Mika joins Glenn Freeman and Edd Straw to discuss the whole race in great detail, from starting on pole position behind the safety car, to McLaren's cautious strategy that worked against David Coulthard, Hakkinen's spin that handed Schumacher the lead, and how he set about catching the Ferrari. Mika then describes in incredible detail how he felt when Schumacher chopped him on the run to Les Combes, how his run through Eau Rouge on the following lap was key to making the pass for the win, the role of backmarker Ricardo Zonta, and how it felt to see Schumacher's Ferrari in his mirrors after he'd pulled off one of F1's most memorable passes. Mika then explains his post-race conversation with Schumacher, and why declined to share details in public at the time or even discuss the block that left him "pissed off". Away from Hakkinen's heroics, Glenn and Edd look back at all the other big stories from the Spa weekend, including pre-race crisis talks at Ferrari, Jenson Button's move from Williams to Benetton, Schumacher and Jacques Villeneuve falling out (again), the idea of Juan Pablo Montoya signing for Toyota, Jarno Trulli emerging as a qualifying specialist, and the breakdown of Prost's all-French relationship with Peugeot.ASK US ANYTHING: Submit your questions about F1 from 1989-2005 using #BringBackV10s on Twitter, or leave us a 5-star review and ask a question there too!
SPECIAL GUEST: ALLAN McNISH. Toyota managed to fall out with its rival teams and the FIA before it even started racing in F1 in 2002. In this episode we look back at the year Toyota spent testing in 2001 before it joined the grid, and the decision from the FIA that led to that and cost the Japanese manufacturer millions before it had even turned a wheel. Allan McNish joins us to give the inside story on how Toyota progressed with its off-the-pace test car. There's stories of technical shake-ups, fall-outs with various teams, not feeling welcome in F1 and the tug-of-war between managing expectations and trying to show some ambition for what would become one of the most expensive F1 teams ever. ASK US ANYTHING: Get your questions in about anything to do with F1 from 1989-2005 for our series finale. Use #BringBackV10s on Twitter to submit your question now!
Michael Schumacher's F1 debut lasted only a few seconds, yet he made a huge impression and by the time of his second appearance he'd already switched teams. In this episode Glenn Freeman is joined by Jordan designer Gary Anderson and Edd Straw to revisit what happened in 1991 around Schumacher's famous debut, from how he got the Jordan drive for Spa, to why the team didn't have him under a secure enough contract to stop Benetton snapping him up for the next race at Monza. We also look at how Jordan's other car could have won the Belgian GP that year, how Roberto Moreno almost stopped the Benetton switch happening, why Flavio Briatore ordered Alex Zanardi to walk around the Monza paddock in Benetton overalls, and what led Ayrton Senna to weigh in on the saga in public. There's also the second contract controversy of Schumacher's career that happened just a few months later when he was preparing for his first full season in F1. ASK US ANYTHING: Get your questions in for our series finale, where you can ask us whatever you like about F1 from 1989-2005. Use #BringBackV10s on Twitter to submit your question!
Juan Pablo Montoya arrived in Formula 1 in 2001 after two sensational years in America where he claimed the CART title as a rookie in 1999 and won the Indianapolis 500 at the first attempt in 2000. In this episode Glenn Freeman and Mark Hughes are joined by Jonathan Williams to discuss Montoya's rookie F1 season, with Jonathan offering a unique insight from what it was like being inside the team created by his father Frank when Montoya arrived. We cover the impact Montoya's signing had on Jenson Button (and if Williams could have ever had a Montoya/Button line-up), how expectations were set following Alex Zanardi's struggles two years earlier, tension with Ralf Schumacher that started before they'd even raced together, that stunning pass on Michael Schumacher at the Brazilian Grand Prix, Montoya's struggles after that race to find his feet in F1, team tactics fallouts with Ralf later in the year, how he handled more missed opportunities to win, and how it all came together for a long awaited maiden victory during a sombre Monza weekend. ASK US ANYTHING: Submit your questions about F1 from 1989-2005 for our series finale using #BringBackV10s on Twitter
The 1993 Portuguese Grand Prix fell in the middle of two of the busiest weeks for off-track stories in Formula 1 history. Ex-F1 driver and Sky Sports expert Karun Chandhok joins Glenn Freeman and Edd Straw to look back at all the big talking points from late-1993, from Nigel Mansell's sensational rookie Indycar success (and Bernie Ecclestone's failed attempt to get him back to F1 for 1994), Ayrton Senna effectively forcing Alain Prost out of Williams, plus McLaren dropping Michael Andretti, promoting Mika Hakkinen, and trying to sign Michael Schumacher! We also look at how Hakkinen upstaged Senna in qualifying for his McLaren debut, and the effect that might have had on Senna's remaining races with the team, how Schumacher salvaged a difficult weekend to catch everyone out to win the race, the first signs of a Ferrari revival under Jean Todt, a scary crash for Gerhard Berger, and why McLaren decided against Lamborghini engines to team up with Peugeot. HAVE YOUR SAY: Submit a question for our series finale using #BringBackV10s on Twitter - ask us anything about F1 from 1989-2005!
Austria 2002 remains an iconic moment in Formula 1 history... for all the wrong reasons. In this episode of Bring Back V10s we look back at everything that went on around that race, from why Ferrari was so dominant in 2002, how McLaren and Williams were dropping the ball, to how Ferrari management justified its actions even though Michael Schumacher already looked untouchable early in the 2002 season. We also look at how Schumacher's version of events differed from the way his bosses were explaining it, why Barrichello thought he'd never be asked to give up a win, and the role a similar incident in 2001 had in how everyone handled this controversy a year later. There's also time to remember Takuma Sato's lucky escape in a crash with Nick Heidfeld, and how Eddie Jordan and Honda disagreed over the terms of their contract, resulting in a big payday for EJ but no more Japanese engines for his team in the future - even though it was beating Honda's favoured team BAR. Finally, we look back at the FIA hearing Ferrari faced, why it couldn't be severely punished, and why the FIA knew a ban on team orders that followed was always destined to fail. HAVE YOUR SAY: Get your questions in for our series finale. Ask us anything about F1 from 1989-2005 using #BringBackV10s on Twitter, or leave us a podcast review and ask a question there!
The 1990 French Grand Prix was the setting for one of the most remarkable turnarounds in F1 history. The plucky Leyton House team went from failing to qualify for the previous race in Mexico to coming within a couple of laps of winning at Paul Ricard with Ivan Capelli. In this episode we look at how that transformation happened - thanks to some fine work by a young designer named Adrian Newey... just before he was let go by the team! As well as tracking Newey's falling out with Leyton House and his year-long bid to work out what was going wrong with his designs, the other stories we look into include politics and fallings out at Ferrari, Arrows trying to make big moves on the recruitment front, Jordan's engine deal that nearly upset Benetton, contract dramas for Jean Alesi - including why his 1991 Williams deal fell over because of Ayrton Senna, how Leyton House came up with an almost-winning strategy to defeat Alain Prost's Ferrari, and why this heartbreaking near-miss was still a cause for celebration at the team. HAVE YOUR SAY: Get your questions in for our season finale using the hashtag #BringBackV10s for anything to do with F1 from 1989-2005.
Honda nearly entered F1 with its own full works team in 2000, and in preparation for that it ran a test car in early 1999 with Jos Verstappen behind the wheel. The project was part of its evaluation of an F1 project, but two months after the car ran alongside most of the grid in pre-season testing, the idea was canned and Honda signed a works engine deal with BAR instead. Glenn Freeman is joined by Gary Anderson and Scott Mitchell to look back on the 1999 Honda project, from early discussions with Eddie Jordan about buying his team (and why he turned the offer down), how it put together a test team under the guidance of Harvey Poselthwaite, why Poselthwaite's HRD group pitched for a budget as big as Ferrari's and the possible impact that had on the direction of Honda's F1 ambitions, and how the Japanese manufacturer's mind was already made up before Poselthwaite's untimely death when the test car was still running in April. We then look at how the BAR deal came together, how Flavio Briatore tried to stop it, and why Honda chose to partner up with the team that was new to the grid in 1999.HAVE YOUR SAY: Ask a question by leaving us a review on your podcast platform, or use #BringBackV10s on Twitter to submit a question for our series finale, where we'll talk about whatever you want from F1 1989-2005.
Season two of #BringBackV10s is here! The wait is over, and we're kicking things off with our first episode dedicated to Ayrton Senna. Rather than choose one of the obvious Senna stories to look back at, we're reflecting on his final Brazilian GP in 1994 - the only race he completed a decent amount of laps in behind the wheel of a Williams. Glenn Freeman is joined by Edd Straw and Brazilian broadcaster Lito Cavalcanti to trace the story of Senna's final home race all the way from the day his Williams deal for 1994 was announced, to the moment he spun out while chasing Michael Schumacher. We look at what the expectations were for Senna, McLaren's audacious bid to get him to change his mind, why he felt he needed a fresh start in F1, his awareness of the pressure he'd be under following the retirement of Alain Prost, how Prost almost ended up back on the grid with McLaren, how Senna reacted when he realised Williams had lost its advantage of the previous two years, the impressive nature of his performance in Brazil even though it wasn't going to be enough to stop Schumacher, and what Adrian Newey discovered was wrong with the first iteration of the FW16. ASK US ANYTHING: Get your questions in for our series finale using #BringBackV10s on Twitter, or leave us a 5-star review and submit a question there too!
Bring Back V10s is... back! Season 2 is almost here, and to get you ready for our first full episode Glenn Freeman and Edd Straw get together for a quick chat about team orders at McLaren between Mika Hakkinen and David Coulthard in the late-1990s. This subject came from a question asked in a review that was left on Apple Podcasts - why not leave us a 5-star review of your own and ask a question for our series finale? Alternatively, you can get your questions in using #BringBackV10s on Twitter. Get ready for season two!
BONUS EPISODE: It's series finale time, and to celebrate #BringBackV10s taking a temporary break before series 2, we're answering more of your questions about F1 from 1989-2005. Mark Hughes and ex-F1 technical director and car designer Gary Anderson join Glenn Freeman to discuss a range of topics, including: What made Kimi Raikkonen so good at McLaren, and why did he struggle to recapture that magic in the years that followed; how out of control F1's 'driver aids' era of the early 1990s would have got if the rules weren't tightened up; why Gary had to get drunk with Stefano Modena to prove he didn't hate him; how Eddie Irvine made his mark on his F1 debut before getting punched by Ayrton Senna; why Gary joined the group of teams sprouting the hideous X-wings in 1998; Jacques Villeneuve's stunning qualifying margin of 1.7 seconds in the 1997 Australian Grand Prix, Martin Brundle's transition from F1 driver to top-line pundit and commentator; Allegations of Benetton running traction control in 1994; Mika Hakkinen's disappointing final season, and what we'd bring back (other than V10s!) from this era to improve modern F1. Keep your questions and episode suggestions coming in to @wearetherace on social media using #BringBack V10s, and we'll update you very soon on when series two will launch! Thanks for listening to everything we've done so far, and please tell your friends what they've been missing out on.
We've reached the end of the first series of Bring Back V10s, but we've been so overwhelmed with the number of questions you sent in using #BringBackV10s that we're turning our series finale into a double header! Edd Straw and Matt Beer join Glenn Freeman for part one, where we'll tackle topics including: Why Toyota's megabucks team was always destined to fail, why Benetton never recovered from losing Michael Schumacher, Jean Alesi's aborted switch to Williams, what might have happened in the years that followed if Ayrton Senna had WON the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix, Ferrari's hideous 1996 car, how Olivier Panis's leg-breaking crash in Canada in 1997 altered his career, Lola's 1997 disaster, plus our favourite cars and races from the era and much more!
Michael Schumacher's 1990s rivalry with Damon Hill ignited at the end of the 1994 Formula 1 season. In this episode Andrew van de Burgt and Edd Straw join Glenn Freeman to look back at the final three races of '94, when Schumacher returned from his two-race ban with just a one-point lead over Hill. Schumacher won comfortably on his return at Jerez, but why was Hill fuming with his Williams team, and left him 'pulling teeth' trying to get an apology from management? Why didn't Williams make it clearer it believed in Hill? How did the dynamic at Williams change when Nigel Mansell returned? How did Hill pull off the drive of his life in the rain of Japan to set up the famous Adelaide decider? Who did he ask for help at the start of the crucial final lap - and what phenomenon did he experience over the first part of that remarkable lap before he 'took back control'? Why did he lash out at Williams in public before the finale in Australia? How did Williams get on terms with Benetton? What made Schumacher's car harder to drive in the title decider? What was Schumacher's explanation for the controversial collision that decided the championship in his favour, and was he telling the truth? How did Hill find out Schumacher had already hit the wall? What did he think when he first saw the footage? Did Williams consider taking action? What did Hill do the following day - that Schumacher used to his advantage when he returned to Germany? And did the right man win the championship that year? HAVE YOUR SAY: Next week we start our 'Ask us anything' finale - which will now be in two parts! Get your questions in using #BringBackV10s to @wearetherace on social media.
At the start of our Bring Back V10s era in 1989, Formula 1 had as many as 39 cars turning up trying to get onto a 26-car grid for a grand prix. After an initial pre-qualifying elimination process was introduced for the first practice session in 1988, a formalised session was added to race weekends for the following season, to narrow the field down to 30 contenders before free practice even started. Edd Straw and Matt Beer join Glenn Freeman to look back at a crazy time for F1 backmarkers. What was the crazy initial pitch for pre-qualifying that got rejected? Why did some teams that were clearly quick enough to qualify for races still have to go through the ignominy of the Friday morning session? Who were the worst teams to try their luck at getting into F1? Which driver completed a full season without ever getting through pre-qualifying? Which team's engine supplier once timed the lifespan of its engine from fire-up to failure at four seconds? Why did so many no-hoper teams try to get into F1 at this stage? What were the best results scored by teams who came through pre-qualifying? Who were the drivers who produced the best stats in pre-qualifying sessions? Who never made it onto an F1 grid in their careers despite appearing in pre-qualifying? How did Jordan turn pre-qualifying into an advantage on its way to finishing fifth in its first season? Were there really teams with works engine deals competing in these sessions? Was the shambolic Andrea Moda team of 1992 the final straw for F1? How did F1 go about raising the barrier to entry in the years that followed, creating the 'closed shop' championship we have today? Coloni, Life, EuroBrun and many more minnow teams from this era all get their moment in the limelight in this episode. HAVE YOUR SAY: Get your questions in for our season finale. Ask us anything about F1 from 1989-2005 using #BringBackV10s @wearetherace
Nigel Mansell and McLaren never felt like a match made in heaven, and when they joined forces in 1995 the alliance was short-lived. Sam Smith and Jack Benyon join Glenn Freeman to discuss why this partnership went so wrong. How did Mansell go from thinking he had a Williams drive to getting a phone call from Ron Dennis? What were the driving forces behind McLaren taking on a driver who had been one of its biggest rivals? How lofty were McLaren's and Mansell's expectations, and were they justified? What did Mansell think of the car when he first drove it? What were the specific problems he described that made it so unsuitable to his driving style? Why didn't it come to light earlier that he didn't fit in the car? What was Mark Blundell's side of the story of how he found out he was being called up as a stand-in? How did Mansell manage to do over 100 laps of testing in the original chassis before the wider one was available to race? Why did he think the bigger car would solve McLaren's aero problems? How did he stack up against Mika Hakkinen? What was wrong with the car when Mansell parked it in his final GP? What changes to McLaren's radio etiquette were put in place after Mansell's 'performance' at Barcelona? Did McLaren ever get on top of the car's problems? HAVE YOUR SAY: Get your questions in for our season finale - ask us anything using #BringBackV10s @wearetherace on social media
The dominance of Ferrari and Michael Schumacher came to an abrupt end in 2005, when rule changes caught the team out and left it struggling to get on the pace. Glenn Freeman is joined by Mark Hughes and Scott Mitchell to look back at the factors behind Ferrari's troubles, the key moments from the year, and to ask if someone else finally winning a championship in the 21st century was a good thing for F1. Did Ferrari know it would be in trouble when the last-minute rule changes were forced through for 2005? How did Ross Brawn used to fight these changes, and try to steer ideas more towards something Ferrari could work with? Why was the dominant F2004's concept unable to translate into a strong F2005? How did strong early showings in Bahrain, and famously at Imola, not translate into a better season? Was it all Bridgestone's fault or was there more to it? How was Ferrari's car and engine concept compromised? Should it have done more to avoid the Indianapolis '05 fiasco, or was it right to feel bitter towards rivals that had pushed for changes to knock it of its perch? Who did the Italian media try to pin the blame on for the F2005's failings, and did they have a point? Why were there flashes of speed from the car but never a consistent run of competitive performances? What caused Schumacher to finally crack and call out Bridgestone? And what did Ferrari and Bridgestone learn from the experience? Finally, how did Michelin feel when the tyre rules were changed back for 2006? HAVE YOUR SAY: Get your questions in using #BringBackV10s to @wearetherace on social media. Ask us anything about F1 from 1989-2005 for our series finale!
In late 1999 the combination of Jordan and Heinz-Harald Frentzen was at the peak of its powers, and it so nearly pulled off a world championship upset against the might of McLaren and Ferrari. Glenn Freeman is joined by Matt Beer and Edd Straw to revisit the final few races of the season to work out how Jordan found itself in an unlikely title fight. They assess how good the Jordan 199 really was given only one driver was doing anything with it (sorry Damon!), the fragilities that were costing McLaren and Mika Hakkinen, why Eddie Irvine's form was so inconsistent following his incredible spell in the summer after Michael Schumacher broke his leg, Jordan and McLaren's opposing theories on Hakkinen's memorable Monza blunder, the lap of Frentzen's life in qualifying at the Nurburgring, how the same problem that struck Frentzen's car while he was leading that race also resulted in Pedro Diniz's terrifying roll-hoop-busting crash at the start - and a rare explanation of the trick system that was behind that mysterious glitch! We also look at why the fizz went out of Jordan's season after that Nurburgring heartbreak, and why it would never scale those heights again.HAVE YOUR SAY: Get your questions in for our series finale to @wearetherace on social media, using the #BringBackV10s to ask us anything about F1 from 1989-2005!
Join us for an in-depth look at one of the most famous heartbreak stories from F1 in the 1990s: The 1997 Hungarian Grand Prix. Glenn Freeman, Matt Beer and Edd Straw revisit all the key talking points in F1 from before, during and after the weekend, as well as trying to work out how Arrows managed to have its day in the sun with a car that was hopeless earlier in the season. They also look at how the Ferrari v Williams battle was shaping up in the summer of '97, if this was another race McLaren threw away with its poor reliability, how Benetton went from winning the previous race to having one of its cars finish behind a Minardi, how Jordan had the right strategy but was out of the hunt before race day, what on earth happened to the usual lead Bridgestone runner Prost GP, why Michael Schumacher tested a Sauber not long after this race, Jan Magnussen's shot in F1 with Stewart and why it didn't work out, and how F1 races with extreme tyre wear are interpreted differently today. Plus they uncover which driver really should have won this race - and it wasn't Jacques Villeneuve. We also look at the big storyline off-track after Hill's heroics, as he entered into contract talks for 1998 with FIVE teams, receiving a variety of offers that were lucrative, offensive, and in one case even upset Alain Prost. HAVE YOUR SAY: Get your questions in for our 'Ask us anything' series finale about all things from 1989-2005 in F1. Contact @wearetherace on social media, using the hashtag #BringBackV10s
How can one of the top teams in F1 at the time produce a car that was never able to race? Glenn Freeman is joined by Edd Straw and ex-McLaren F1 mechanic Marc Priestley to discuss the McLaren MP4-18, which was supposed to race in 2003 but never made it to a grand prix. Why was McLaren launching the car late? Why did that launch date keep getting pushed back? What role did the success of the interim MP4-17D have on McLaren's plans? What fundamental problems did Adrian Newey discover with his radical design? How did McLaren's handling of the project set the wheels in motion for Newey to leave the team? Was McLaren right not to risk the car while Kimi Raikkonen was fighting for a championship? Could Raikkonen have beaten Michael Schumacher to the title if more effort had gone into the MP4-17D? And last but not least, did this famous unraced car in fact end up racing after all?? HAVE YOUR SAY: Contact @wearetherace on social media using #BringBackV10s with comments and questions you want us to tackle in our series finale!
Our monster first story from F1's past reaches its chaotic conclusion as we reach the final weeks of Alain Prost's time at Ferrari. Karun Chandhok and Edd Straw return to help Glenn Freeman chart the total downfall of this relationship. Why did Ferrari's promising debut for its new car mid-season not carry on? What were the failings behind the scenes at Ferrari that showed how far behind the times it was in F1? Should Jean Alesi have won a race? Why was Ferrari still obsessed with peak engine power when its rivals were moving on? How did Michael Andretti fit into all of this? What was Prost expecting to do for 1992, and how did he get on when he later tested a Ligier? And most importantly, did he really get fired for calling the Ferrari a truck?! HAVE YOUR SAY: Get your questions and comments in for our series finale by using #BringBackV10s on Twitter to @wearetherace
Our first episode revisits the famous saga that led to Alain Prost being fired by Ferrari at the end of 1991. Glenn Freeman is joined by Karun Chandhok and Edd Straw to trace this story back over the course of more than 12 months. How did Nigel Mansell's involvement in late-1990 lead to the first cracks appearing between Prost and Ferrari? Why was Ferrari so confident it would start 1991 ahead of its rivals? What was going on behind the scenes at Maranello? Why did it release two new cars in a single season? Why was the second of those cars so good on its debut and disappointing after that? This episode takes us up to the middle of 1991, when things were starting to look up for this partnership even if the chance of another world title push was off the table. BE PART OF OUR SERIES FINALE: Send your questions and comments about anything to do with F1 from 1989-2005 to @wearetherace using #BringBackV10s and it could be included in our 'Ask us anything' series finale. https://www.the-race.com
What is Bring Back V10s? Host Glenn Freeman explains what you can expect from our new classic F1 podcast, and gives you a little preview of a clip where we revisit one of the less-famous Senna vs Prost moments from their epic rivalry. Make sure you subscribe to this feed so you are the first to know when our opening episode is released!