F1 Beyond The Grid

Damson Idris describes playing Formula 1 rookie Joshua Pearce in F1: The Movie - the Oscar-winning, highest-grossing sports film of all time - as a life-changing moment.

Speaking to Tom Clarkson a year since its release, Damson talks about racing in the F2 cars they used for the film, how he and co-star Brad Pitt compared against each other on track and what it was like to immerse himself in the world of Formula 1.

Damson also tells Tom about his relationship with Lewis Hamilton and why he believes the seven-time World Champion ‘has that Michael Jordan thing’. You’ll also hear about a dramatic moment during filming that showed Damson what it’s truly like to be a Formula 1 driver pushing to the limit.
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For 20 years, Italy waited for a driver to join Giancarlo Fisichella as a Formula 1 Grand Prix-winner. Now, Kimi Antonelli is flying Il Tricolore on the top step of the podium once again. Fisi tells Tom Clarkson about the pressures of carrying Italy’s hopes in F1 and what Kimi needs to do to end the nation’s even longer wait for a World Champion.

Fisi looks back on his own F1 career - the ‘hard’ moments he had supporting Fernando Alonso in his teammate’s title-winning seasons, how they relaxed before the race and how close he came to moving to another team in the mid 2000s.

Giancarlo remembers living his dream and joining Ferrari during the 2009 season. Does he think Kimi Antonelli could ever do the same?
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Lando Norris achieved his lifelong dream in 2025, becoming Formula 1 World Champion for the first time after a rollercoaster title battle that went all the way down to the wire in Abu Dhabi.

Speaking to Tom Clarkson, Lando talks about not being nervous before that season-finale, what it really means to achieve the goal he’s been chasing for so long, how becoming champion has changed him and whether he ever considered ‘doing a Nico Rosberg’ and retiring after winning his first title.

Lando also tells Tom why he doesn’t think he’d be World Champion now had he ignored team orders at Budapest in 2024 and whether he sees himself as a one-team driver with McLaren for the rest of his career. The answer is revealing.

Plus, you’ll hear where Lando keeps his Drivers’ Championship trophy and what he makes of his recently unveiled waxwork at Madame Tussauds.
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Flavio Briatore and ‘Team Enstone’ go back a long way.

As Benetton in the 90’s, he led them to multiple World Championships with Michael Schumacher. And as Renault in the 2000s, he did the same with Fernando Alonso. So how can he achieve similar success with Alpine?

Speaking to Tom Clarkson, Flavio talks about the progress the team have made since he became Executive Advisor, what he makes of his drivers Pierre Gasly and Franco Colapinto, and whether he has a timescale for Alpine to be fighting for titles.

Flavio also shares some funny anecdotes about replacing Jenson Button with Alonso at Renault, firing Jackie Stewart and his criticism of Franco in the latest series of Drive to Survive.

Plus, Flav tells Tom about the arrival of Gucci as the team’s main sponsor in 2027.
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As a child, Formula 1 was his dream. As a young driver, he was on the same trajectory as Michael Schumacher. Tom Kristensen was offered a chance to join a Formula 1 team, but he saw it as too risky. Instead, he found success in sportscars and made history at the Le Mans 24 Hours with a record nine victories.
Tom tells Tom Clarkson about the ‘risky’ offer he received from a Formula 1 team in the 1990s, the sportscar decision which harmed his F1 chances, and the day he impressed a World Champion in a modern F1 car.
‘Mr Le Mans’ also remembers his history-making days at the world’s most famous endurance race and explains how racing different cars made him a better driver.
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