James Allen On F1

The first triple header of the season is done, some tired faces have headed back from the Gulf for a short Easter break before attacking the standalone Miami GP next week, then another triple header: Imola, Monaco and Spain.

We get into why Max Verstappen is heaping praise on Oscar Piastri, despite their Turn 1 incident, Piastri’s many father figures, Williams’ best start for a decade. And with Lewis Hamilton describing his Jeddah race as “horrible” and doubting his fortunes will change this year, we look in depth at what’s going on at Ferrari in the company of Motorsport editor in chief Ben Hunt and our top F1 writer from Italy, Roberto Chinchero.

Don’t miss the chance to compete against our expert writers on Motorsport’s hugely popular F1 Fantasy League. https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/race-our-writers-motorsport-launches-its-first-ever-featured-league-on-f1-fantasy/10702182/

Join our new Race Center Live watchalong on Motorsport at the upcoming Miami GP where Matt and Tommy from P1 will be joining the feed. Check out the Saudi GP edition here: https://www.motorsport.com/f1/live-text/f1-saudi-arabian-gp-race-center-live-show/1124449/

Send your comments or questions to: @jamesallenonf1 on X/Twitter or [email protected].

Producer: Dre Harrison

A Motorsport Studios production for Autosport

F1 has taken some very interesting turns in the last week, and we don’t mean hairpins. 

As we transit from Bahrain to Saudi, we have seen three of the leading drivers - Max Verstappen, Lewis Hamilton and Lando Norris - admitting they are a bit lost, leaving the super-consistent Oscar Piastri and George Russell to hoover up the big points. Verstappen’s mentor at Red Bull has suggested they may struggle to hold onto him if things don’t improve soon. 

Meanwhile the FIA president made his first appearance of the season in Bahrain, after a tumultuous week of resignations and accusations. He had a chat with F1 teams and manufacturers about V10 engines, but the idea of going back to the future was thrown out. 

With James in the studio to analyse the behind-the-scenes intrigues and decode why some top drivers need relationship counselling with their cars are our F1 writers Ronald Vording and Jake Boxall-Legge. 

It’s your last chance to take part in the Global F1 Fan Survey, which we are running together with F1. Make your voice heard about F1; what you like, what you don’t and who your favourite teams and drivers are. It closes soon. Go to https://fansurvey2025-formula1.motorsportnetwork.com/

And don’t miss the chance to compete against our expert writers on Motorsport’s hugely popular F1 Fantasy League. https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/race-our-writers-motorsport-launches-its-first-ever-featured-league-on-f1-fantasy/10702182/

Send your comments or questions to: @jamesallenonf1 on X/Twitter or [email protected].

Producer: Dre Harrison

A Motorsport Studios production for Autosport 

This week, we take the temperature as F1 leaves Japan after its brief Asian swing and heads to the Middle East.

We examine some possible consequences for F1 of President Trump’s heavy tariffs on car manufacturers and how other companies invested in F1 might be affected.

And though Suzuka wasn’t the most exciting F1 race ever - the top 6 finished in grid order, which is never good - is the outline of this year’s title fight now taking shape?

And we’re on “Rookie Watch” on a mixed weekend for the freshmen class of 2025.

With James in the studio are Motorsport Editor-In-Chief Ben Hunt and Asia-based F1 broadcaster and sponsor broker Matthew Marsh.

F1 business expert Mark Gallagher of Performance Insights and formerly Head of Cosworth, gives us his view on the likely impact of the tariffs on F1.

Remember to take part in the Global F1 Fan Survey, which we are running together with F1. Make your voice heard about F1, what you like and what you’d like to change and who your favourite teams and drivers are. Go to https://fansurvey2025-formula1.motorsportnetwork.com/

And don’t miss the chance to compete against our writers on Motorsport’s hugely popular F1 Fantasy League. https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/race-our-writers-motorsport-launches-its-first-ever-featured-league-on-f1-fantasy/10702182/

Send your comments or questions to: @jamesallenonf1 on X/Twitter or [email protected].

Producer: Dre Harrison

A Motorsport Studios production for Autosport

There’s a famous saying - “In F1, you are either giving pain or taking it.” And after just two rounds of the World Championship there are plenty of examples of that.

We’ll dig into what’s gone wrong for Liam Lawson and why, after just two races, he will no longer be Max Verstappen’s team-mate at Red Bull.

And we’ll look ahead, based at some of the key talking points from China: We’ll get into Oscar Piastri’s complete weekend, Lando Norris’s “will they or won’t they work?” brake dramas. Where do Ferrari go from here after a sprint win and a double disqualification? Why George Russell will keep up the scoreboard pressure on the leaders.. while his rookie team-mate Antonelli proves he is no slouch either.

Why four penalty points don’t make prizes for Jack Doohan.

And we say goodbye to the inimitable Eddie Jordan.

With James in the studio are Motorsport and Autosport F1 correspondents Jake Boxall-Legge and Ronald Vording, who was one of the team in Shanghai that broke the Lawson story.

Remember to take part in the Global F1 Fan Survey, which we are running together with F1. Make your voice heard about F1, what you like and what you’d like to change and who your favourite teams and drivers are. Go to https://fansurvey2025-formula1.motorsportnetwork.com/

And don’t miss the chance to compete against our writers on Motorsport’s hugely popular F1 Fantasy League. https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/race-our-writers-motorsport-launches-its-first-ever-featured-league-on-f1-fantasy/10702182/

Send your comments or questions to: @jamesallenonf1 on X/Twitter or [email protected].

Producer: Dre Harrison

A Motorsport Studios production for Autosport

Lando Norris tamed the chaos in Melbourne to win the opening round of the F1 season. In doing so, he put down a marker for his teammate Oscar Piastri, his rival Max Verstappen, and anyone else who wants a say in this year’s world championship.

Lewis Hamilton’s Ferrari debut didn’t quite go to plan, while F1’s five-and-a-half rookies (Liam Lawson being a semi) had a torrid time. From Hadjar’s tears to Antonelli’s vindication, we’ll analyse the debuts of the class of ‘25.

Meanwhile, as dozens of new sponsors pour into F1, Stefano Domenicali signed a new 5-year contract to remain F1 CEO. He promptly signed the teams up to the commercial part of a new Concorde Agreement. But there is no sign yet of a governance agreement from the FIA, so what does it all mean for the sport?

With James to discuss these and other talking points are Global Editorial director Rebecca Clancy and fresh-ish off the plane from Melbourne, Motorsport Editor in Chief, Ben Hunt.

Remember to take part in the Global F1 Fan Survey, which we are running together with F1. Make your voice heard about F1, what you like and what you’d like to change and who your favourite teams and drivers are. Go to https://fansurvey2025-formula1.motorsportnetwork.com/

And don’t miss the chance to compete against our writers on Motorsport’s hugely popular F1 Fantasy League. https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/race-our-writers-motorsport-launches-its-first-ever-featured-league-on-f1-fantasy/10702182/

Send your comments or questions to: @jamesallenonf1 on X/Twitter or [email protected].

Producers: Dre Harrison and Ben Holmes
Executive Producer: Jason Swales
A Motorsport Studios production for Autosport

In this week’s edition, we look back at this November episode, exploring how F1 teams make key decisions on areas like driver recruitment, development, and race strategy and comparing it with how things are done at a top Premier League football club. 

F1 is a sport built around technology, whereas, in football, the smartest teams have only begun using technology in the last decade for recruitment, strategy, in-game tactical decisions, and more.

With James to compare how Mercedes recruited Kimi Antonelli with how Liverpool FC discovered Mo Salah, we have two experts in their fields.

Rob Smedley, former race engineer to Felipe Massa, head of track engineering at Williams and who now runs Smedley Group which advises across the F1 spectrum on data and AI. Dr Ian Graham, of Ludonautics, was famously head of the data department at Liverpool FC for 11 years. His data analysis played a key role in building the Jurgen Klopp team that won the Premier League and Champions League. His book How to Win the Premier League is a brilliant guide to the way key decisions get taken in an elite sport. 

Remember to take part in the Global F1 Fan Survey which we are running together with F1. Make your voice heard about F1, what you like and what you’d like to change and who your favourite teams and drivers are. Go to https://fansurvey2025-formula1.motorsportnetwork.com/

Also, listen all the way to the end of the show as we unveil our new range of Autosport Podcasts, you can get more information on Tank Slappers, Autosport National, Retro and Racing, right here: https://www.autosport.com/general/news/autosport-launches-three-new-podcast-channels/10701896/

Send your comments or questions to: @jamesallenonf1 on X/Twitter or [email protected].

Producer: Dre Harrison

A Motorsport Studios production for Autosport 

We’ve just returned from Bahrain, where the F1 teams did their only test last week ahead of the new F1 season kick-off in Melbourne.

People say testing is boring but if you know what to look for, it’s anything but. The laps are on track, and the body language of the cars needs to be analysed. But there is also the body language of the people – the teams, engineers and of course the drivers.

Will Ferrari compete with McLaren? What is Max Verstappen’s state of mind? Which of the five rookie drivers will shine? And does Aston Martin need to break glass and call in Adrian Newey to sort out their 2025 car?

James joins up with some of our colleagues from around the world to go under the skin of F1 testing and look at how some of the big stories of the season are shaping up. Our man in Italy Roberto Chinchero has the inside line, Ronald Vording gives a Dutch perspective and there is analysis from Jake Boxall-Legge.

Remember to take part in the Global F1 Fan Survey which we are running together with F1. Make your voice heard about F1, what you like and what you’d like to change and who your favourite teams and drivers are. Go to https://fansurvey2025-formula1.motorsportnetwork.com/

Send your comments or questions to: @jamesallenonf1 on X/Twitter or [email protected].

Producer: Dre Harrison

A Motorsport Studios production for Autosport

This week as we digest the F175 launch and head off for pre-season testing, we speak to one of F1’s top race promoters to find out what goes on behind the scenes to stage an event for almost 300,000 people.

This year is Miami’s fourth as an F1 host venue, part of Liberty Media’s drive to expand F1 in the US market and engage new fans.

Miami does things a bit differently and they do it with a sense of humour, which is in short supply in F1, which can take itself too seriously at times.

So how do they juggle the conflicting demands of NFL, the FIFA World Cup, the Miami Open Tennis and F1 events in the same season?

What does it take logistically to put on a Grand Prix at this scale? And what sort of tickets give the fans the best deal? James sits down with Tyler Epp, President of the Miami Grand Prix to discuss how the race has gone from "fake" marina, to fan favourite.

Global Editorial Director Rebecca Clancy and Autosport F1 Business Correspondent Mark Mann-Bryans join James in the studio. They also preview the F1 testing in Bahrain.

Remember to take part in the Global F1 Fan Survey, which we are running together with F1. Make your voice heard about F1; what you like, what you’d like to change and who your favourite teams and drivers are. Go to https://fansurvey2025-formula1.motorsportnetwork.com/

Send your comments or questions to: @jamesallenonf1 on X/Twitter or [email protected].

Producers: Dre Harrison, Ben Holmes
Executive Producer: Jason Swales
A Motorsport Studios production for Autosport

This week F1 held its spectacular season launch event at the O2 Arena in London in a ceremony that was all about entertaining the fans, particularly F1’s new fans.

Hot on its heels F1 is launching the latest Global Fan Survey, which is being conducted by Motorsport Network, Autosport’s parent company, in partnership with F1.

This is where F1 fans around the world have a chance to make their voices heard. There will be many useful learnings for F1, the teams, sponsors and promoters. The 2021 survey had 167,000 responses from 185 countries, with Nielsen certifying it as the largest sports survey ever conducted.

We have been conducting these surveys for many years. The 2017 survey came just after Liberty Media’s takeover of F1 and by 2021 we could clearly see the changes in attitudes and demographics among fans, who were younger and more female. So what will this new survey show?

Autosport Editor-in-Chief Rebecca Clancy and Chief Motorsport writer Ben Hunt join James in the studio and we hear from an influential voice from the US on F1’s new audiences, Toni Cowan-Brown.

If you'd like to participate in the 2025 F1 Global Fan Survey, you can do so by clicking this link: https://fansurvey2025-formula1.motorsportnetwork.com

Send your comments or questions to: @jamesallenonf1 on X/Twitter or [email protected].

Producer: Dre Harrison
A Motorsport Studios production for Autosport

Motor racing has a long tradition as an incubator of technology. AI is the latest example as tech companies flood into the sport as partners, helping teams harness AI to improve performance. F1 increasingly uses AI in its TV and online coverage to provide insights and content tailored for fans.

The FIA is also getting in on the act; this week it announced that AI will now help the F1 race officials and play a role in sensitive decisions on things like track limits and analysis of race incidents.

So what impact is AI already having on F1? Where might it get involved in the future? And should there be a limit to how far it goes?

We hear from a panel of industry experts: Rob Smedley, CEO of Smedley Group, Former F1 Director of Data Systems; Ferrari and Williams engineer, Joe Carroll, General Manager, Telco, Media, Entertainment, Games and Sport, Amazon Web Services and Stephane Timpano, CEO Aspire, which runs the A2RL autonomous racing league, where the AI coders are the stars.

In the studio with James are Autosport’s F1 Business Correspondent Mark Mann-Bryans and Sam Agini from the Financial Times.

Send your comments or questions to: @jamesallenonf1 on X/Twitter or [email protected].

Producer: Dre Harrison
Executive Producer: Jason Swales
A Motorsport Studios production for Autosport

This week we have a special interview with newly minted F1 World Champion team boss, Zak Brown.

Zak has been McLaren's CEO since 2018, but it’s taken him several attempts to get the right team structure and management team to bring a first Constructors’ World Championship since the heady days of 1998.

Zak has developed into a strong leader and here he shares some of his management techniques. He used to run sports marketing businesses and was recognised as one of the best sponsorship brokers in the sport for a decade, but an F1 team has many more departments, all of which have to be high-performing.

So what was the secret to finally getting McLaren in shape to deliver the title? Does he regret not being more ruthless at certain races in 2024, which might have given Lando Norris a better shot at winning the drivers’ title? Why does he feel the FIA must make serious changes to the refereeing of the sport in the stewards' room? And do McLaren start the 2025 season as Championship favourites?

In the studio to analyse with James are Autosport’s Editor-in-Chief Rebecca Clancy and Chief Motorsport Writer Ben Hunt.

Send your comments or questions to: @jamesallenonf1 on X/Twitter or [email protected].

Producer: Dre Harrison
A Motorsport Studios production for Autosport

Hello and welcome to the James Allen on F1 podcast, brought to you by Autosport.

This week we chat to F1’s youngest team principal, Oliver Oakes. The 37-year-old was parachuted into the Alpine team in August last year when they were struggling in 9th place in the Championship. They ended the season 6th.

Oli is the first to admit that there was a slice of luck involved, as the bulk of their points were scored with that amazing double podium in the wet in Brazil. But underneath that was an upward trend in car development and ultimately they deserved their finishing position.

So what happens next and is Oliver a mighty Oak? Is he the stabilising force that Alpine has been crying out for? And with rookie drivers making an astonishing 30% of the F1 field, we get Oliver’s take on why F1 is going for youth.

In the studio with James to discuss this are our International Editor Oleg Karpov and Marc Priestley, BBC Five Live commentator, podcaster and former McLaren F1 mechanic.

Send your comments or questions to: @jamesallenonf1 on X/Twitter or [email protected].

Producer: Dre Harrison
Executive Producer: Jason Swales
A Motorsport Studios production for Autosport

For the first JA on F1 podcast of 2025, we discuss Lewis Hamilton as he turns 40. The seven-time World Champion is preparing to drive a Ferrari F1 car for the first time this month. In his New Year message to fans, he said “Reinvention is powerful”

So how will this reinvention for Hamilton go? What do we know so far about the 2025 Ferrari car he will be driving? And what does history tell us about F1 champions who make late-career moves; how did it work out for them? Is it possible to win a World Championship beyond 40?

With James in the studio to dive into Lewis Hamilton at Ferrari are Chief Motorsport Writer Ben Hunt and F1 writer Jake Boxall-Legge. We also hear from our colleague Roberto Chinchero on the excitement building in Italy.

Send your comments or questions to: @jamesallenonf1 on X/Twitter or [email protected].

Producer: Dre Harrison
A Motorsport Studios production for Autosport

Who will win the 2025 F1 Drivers' Championship?

Will Lewis Hamilton score more points than Charles Leclerc?

What impact will the struggles of car manufacturers, especially Europeans, have on F1 next year?

How might geopolitics impact on F1, for example in the Middle East and Asia ?

For our final podcast of the year, we thought that rather than looking backwards with yet another Season Review – we would immediately throw it forwards and Superforecast F1 in 2025.

Joining James to look into the future are Jon Noble, Ben Hunt and Jake Boxall-Legge.

Send your comments or questions to: @jamesallenonf1 on X/Twitter or [email protected].

A Motorsport Studios production for Autosport

The F1 season is almost over. Max Verstappen has joined Alain Prost and Sebastian Vettel as a four-time world champion. But there is one very important matter still to resolve.

The Formula 1 Constructors’ Championship may not have the same caché with fans, but it matters a lot to the teams; it dictates how much F1 prize money they earn.

But this year it means even more; for the first time in 16 years, the two teams fighting it out are McLaren and Ferrari. This has echoes of the great years of Schumacher and Hakkinen of Hamilton, Alonso, Raikkonen and Massa.

Ferrari hasn’t won the title since 2008 and McLaren hasn’t won it since 1998. Whoever wins, it’s going to be epic!

Which of these great names will prevail? Who has the stronger drivers?

And how did we get here, when the season started with a series of Red Bull 1-2 finishes?

With James to discuss this are; Rob Smedley, former race engineer to Felipe Massa at Ferrari, BBC Commentator and former McLaren mechanic Marc Priestly and Autosport’s own Jake Boxall-Legge.

Send your comments or questions to @jamesallenonf1 on X/Twitter or [email protected].

A Motorsport Studios production for Autosport

This week we are doing something a little different. We explore how F1 teams make key decisions on areas like driver recruitment, development and race strategy and compare it with how things are done at a top Premier League football club.

F1 is a sport built around technology, whereas in football the smartest teams have began only in the last decade to use it for recruitment, for strategy, in-game tactical decisions and so much more.

With James to compare how Mercedes recruited Kimi Antonelli with how Liverpool FC discovered Mo Salah, we have two experts in their fields.

Rob Smedley, former race engineer to Felipe Massa, head of track engineering at Williams and who now runs Smedley Group which advises across the F1 spectrum on data and AI.

And Dr Ian Graham, of Ludonautics and most famously head of the data department at Liverpool FC for 11 years. His data analysis played a key role in building the Jurgen Klopp team that won the Premier League and Champions league. His book How to win the Premier League is a brilliant guide to the way decisions get taken in an elite sport.

Send your comments or questions to: @jamesallenonf1 on X/Twitter or [email protected].

A Motorsport Studios production for Autosport

This week we are looking at how you get an F1 team to the next level. In a super competitive environment like F1, where no-one stands still, how do you go from 8th in the championship to the top of the standings using technology and people? 

We welcome another F1 team principal James Vowles, who is 18 months into his programme to take Williams, F1’s second most successful team, back to the winner’s circle. It’s been 11 years since Williams last won a Grand Prix. James doesn’t want that to reach 15 years.

We’ll talk to James about how he’s empowering youth, as he’s done with Franco Colapinto, why plenty of F2 drivers are now getting into F1 but it’s not the series champions and what AI is already doing in F1 and what role it will play in the future. 

With James in the studio to fill in the picture is Autosport F1 writer, Jake Boxall-Legge. 

Send your comments or questions to: @jamesallenonf1 on X/Twitter or [email protected].

A Motorsport Studios production for Autosport 

This week we delve into the curious case of Daniel Ricciardo. He once rode a horse into the paddock at Austin, but will not be lining up there in at this year’s US Grand Prix - or any other Grands Prix - after being dropped by Red Bull.

Daniel was one of F1’s biggest fan favourites and an 8-time Grand Prix winner. But he’s not been the same driver for a few years now. As always with F1, a sport all about technology and hardware, at the heart of this is a very human story.

On this podcast we drill down into that story - what made Ricciardo special? And what went wrong? We hear from a Chief Engineer whose job was to develop Ricciardo for his big-time 2014 move to Red Bull Racing and from the Australian F1 TV host, who’s known Daniel since his early days.

With James in the studio are two top F1 journalists who covered Ricciardo’s entire career, Autosport’s F1 Editor Jon Noble and Chief motorsport writer Ben Hunt.

Send your comments or questions to @jamesallenonf1 on X/Twitter or [email protected].

Guests: Phil Charles, former Chief Race Engineer, Toro Rosso F1 team (now RB) Greg Rust, former Network 10 F1 Presenter

A Motorsport Studios production for Autosport

F1 runs on money and this week James is in Singapore to dig into how F1 is now raking in around $2.5 billion a year in sponsorship. 

Since Liberty Media took over in 2017, sponsors have flocked to the sport and its 10 teams and there are now over 300 active sponsors for the first time in F1 history.

One of the most effective operators in this space is Jefferson Slack, who heads up Aston Martin’s commercial team. In just five years he has taken their sponsor income from around $30 million a year to closer to $300m. 

How have they done it, how important is having world champions like Sebastian Vettel and Fernando Alonso in the car? And how much of a difference will it make to prospective sponsors having the GOAT racing car designer Adrian Newey in the team from 2025?

In the studio to analyse all of this, James is joined by Autosport F1 Business Correspondent Mark Mann-Bryans and Matthew Marsh, an F1 sponsorship broker, who covers the Asian market, based in Singapore.  

Send your comments or questions to: @jamesallenonf1 on X/Twitter or [email protected].

A Motorsport Studios Production for Autosport

This week we look at why it is so tricky to build a winning team in F1 and why success is never guaranteed.

We go behind the scenes of Adrian Newey’s big-money move to Aston Martin and ask what this means for the competitive picture in F1 over the next five years. And we hear from celebrated manager David Richards, who took BAR Honda to second place in the World Championship 20 years ago against Michael Schumacher’s dominant Ferrari team.

Joining James in the studio are Autosport F1 Editor Jon Noble and Chief Writer Ben Hunt, who were both at Aston Martin’s swanky new HQ for the Newey announcement.

There is no doubting Lawrence Stroll’s bold vision, nor his willingness to back his instincts with hard cash to buy the world-class facilities and people Newey will work with. But success in F1 is never guaranteed.

How will this change the competitive picture in F1 over the next five years?

And what can David Richards’ many years of success at the top of motorsport tell us about how winning teams are built?

Send your comments or questions to: @jamesallenonf1 on X/Twitter or email [email protected]

A Motorsport Studios production for Autosport