On this week’s episode, Matt and Richard look back at the controversial ‘crashgate’ scandal, when it emerged that the Renault driver Nelson Piquet Junior deliberately crashed during the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix to hand a major sporting advantage to his team-mate, Fernando Alonso, who went on to win the race.
Matt and Richard look at the origins of the saga, peak into the murkiness around who came up with the idea and put it into action, explain how it came to be uncovered, and discuss the punishments handed out to those involved.
They also debate the morals of the incident itself - was it the worst example of cheating in sporting history (as some claimed at the time) or an example of F1 gamesmanship gone too far?
Matt and Richard will be bringing members an exclusive Q&A episode at the end of Season 3, where they'll answer questions on each of the topics covered. So if you'd like to ask a question about Crashgate, head to Patreon.com/therace
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Producer: Jonny Reynolds
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1:19:01
The quickest driver in F1 history? Jim Clark remembered
On the latest episode of Colossally, join Matt Bishop and Richard Williams as they reappraise the life and career of a driver regarded by many as the quickest to ever sit in a Formula 1 car: Jim Clark.
A double world champion in the 1960s and STILL to this day the driver with the most 'grand slam' grand prix weekends (pole, victory, fastest lap, every racing lap led), Clark was widely considered among his fellow racers (and by Ayrton Senna, no less) to be a cut above - and on this podcast we'll try to explain why.
In doing so, Richard shares some incredible stories of watching Clark race first-hand, including his memories of seeing a young Clark win four races in one meeting, when the Scot was climbing the ladder to F1.
There's chat about Clark's most famous days behind the wheel, his relationship with iconic Lotus boss Colin Chapman, and about the harrowing moments that made him question whether he should race on. Matt and Richard also discuss Clark's idiosyncrasies out of the car, and the unique skillset that made Clark so quick - and possibly the quickest ever - when he jumped into the driver's seat.
Matt also shares an incredibly poignant story about visiting Clark's memorial at the Hockenheim circuit, where, completely by chance, he bumped into someone with vivid memories of the Scotsman's final moments.
Matt and Richard will be bringing members an exclusive Q&A episode at the end of Season 3, where they'll answer questions on each of the topics covered. So if you'd like to ask a question about Jim Clark, head to Patreon.com/therace
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A Race Media Production
Producer: Jonny Reynolds
With special thanks to Tim Silvey for studio support
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1:36:25
Back from the brink: How Frank Williams survived (and his team thrived) in 1986
Today, Williams are a mainstay on the Formula 1 grid and one of the most successful teams in Formula 1 history, having amassed nine constructors’ world championships, seven drivers’ world championships, and 114 grand prix victories. But it all could have been so different.
Ahead of the 1986 season, team boss Frank Williams had a devastating car crash which left him paralysed and fighting for his life. That he survived and that his team would go on to win the constructors' title that very same year is one of the great F1 stories - and it's reappraised in fascinating detail by Matt Bishop and Richard Williams in the latest episode of And Colossally That's History.
They discuss how, after years of struggle, Frank Williams and his eponymous team were arguably in their best ever shape heading into 1986, and how Frank's accident in France threatened to undo all that hard work.
Richard and Matt also explain in poignant detail Frank's incredible survival and recovery, and the absolutely pivotal role his wife Ginny played in keeping him - and by extension his beloved team - alive.
They also outline the incredible ups and downs that played out on-track in 1986, in parallel to Frank's personal rollercoaster, looking in particular at the increasingly bitter intra-team rivalry at Williams between Nigel Mansell and Nelson Piquet, which culminated in dramatic fashion in Australia.
And no episode of Colossally would be complete without some incredible personal anecdotes and impressions thrown in along the way!
Matt and Richard will be bringing members an exclusive Q&A episode at the end of Season 3, where they'll answer questions on each of the topics covered. So if you'd like to ask a question about Williams in '86, head to Patreon.com/therace
Buy some Colossally merch! Visit The Race Shop
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A Race Media Production
Producer: Jonny Reynolds
With special thanks to Tim Silvey for studio support
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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1:10:49
Enzo Ferrari: The uncompromising path to F1 immortality (Part 2)
Matt Bishop and Richard Williams return with part two of their two-part mini series on the life and legacy of one of motorsport’s most important and enduring individuals: Enzo Ferrari.
They finished the last episode at the point that Ferrari won its very first world championship Formula 1 race - the British Grand Prix in 1951. In this episode they’ll guide you through the Fifties, Sixties, Seventies and Eighties, during which time the idiosyncratic Enzo dealt with triumph and tragedy in almost equal measure, as he and his team cemented their legendary status in the sport.
Richard and Matt discuss Enzo's uncomfortable relationship with success, the way his son Dino's death shaped his identity and world view, the 'dark glamour' attached to the Ferrari brand in the Fifties, and how Enzo kept going, even when drivers perished in his machinery.
There's also chat about his unique approach to motivating his workforce through 'creative tension', the myths and mystery that surrounded him throughout his life, his surprising weakness for innovation, and how he repeatedly drove his team on to success, despite setbacks including staff walkouts, in-fighting and mediocre machinery.
Plus, find out who the only driver in Ferrari history was to call Enzo by his first name!
Matt and Richard will be bringing members an exclusive Q&A episode at the end of Season 3, where they'll answer questions on each of the topics covered. So if you'd like to ask a question about Enzo Ferrari, head to Patreon.com/therace
Buy some Colossally merch! Visit The Race Shop
Follow The Race on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook
Check out our latest videos on YouTube
Download our app on iOS or Android
A Race Media Production
Producer: Jonny Reynolds
With special thanks to Tim Silvey for studio support
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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1:24:35
Enzo Ferrari: From middling racing driver to winning constructor (Part 1)
Ferrari is the most famous and celebrated marque in motorsport, and one of the most recognisable brands in the world - but how much do you really know about its founder, Enzo Ferrari?
If your answer to that question is 'very little' then help is at hand, because Season 3 of And Colossally That's History! is kicking off with a double header of Enzo episodes!
On this first episode, Matt Bishop and Enzo Ferrari biographer Richard Williams go back to the very beginning, to explore the events and experiences that helped shape the mindset and attitude of a man who'd build a racing empire.
They explain the mystique around his birth, the moment that a young Enzo developed a love of racing, and how his mother helped get him into the motor trade (Enzo having barely survived World War 1).
There's also detailed analysis of Enzo's own career behind the wheel, including why he gave up his career as a racing driver to become a team manager, and the key moments that led to him establishing himself as a constructor in his own right - despite him never designing so much as a hubcap in his life.
As is usual with Colossally, you can expect amusing anecdotes and amazing anorak facts in abundance, as Matt and Richard bring you right up to the point that Ferrari wins its first world championship Grand Prix at Silverstone, in 1951, before pausing to pick up the rest of the Ferrari story in Part 2.
Matt and Richard will be bringing members an exclusive Q&A episode at the end of Season 3, where they'll answer questions on each of the topics covered. So if you'd like to ask a question about Enzo Ferrari, head to Patreon.com/therace
Buy some Colossally merch! Visit The Race Shop
Follow The Race on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook
Check out our latest videos on YouTube
Download our app on iOS or Android
A Race Media Production
Producer: Jonny Reynolds
With special thanks to Tim Silvey for studio support
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
And Colossally That’s History! (the name a reference to a famous line of Murray Walker commentary) is the podcast that takes an unadulterated look at the earth-shattering events, epic sagas and huge characters that have shaped motor racing history.
From Grand Prix racing as a tool of the Nazi war machine to how Ayrton Senna’s death shaped modern F1, hosts Matt Bishop and Richard Williams will discuss and dissect these topics as only they can, bringing new insight and fresh perspectives that help explain how motor racing moved from niche past-time to the multi-billion-dollar sporting spectacle of today.
Australia