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F1 Explains

F1 Explains

Formula 1

Your questions about Formula 1, answered by the experts. Katie Osborne and Christian Hewgill explain F1 with drivers, engineers and more of the amazing people behind-the-scenes. Send your questions, voice notes and messages to [email protected] An official F1 podcast. For in-depth interviews with F1's biggest stars, listen to F1 Beyond The Grid. For race reviews and previews, listen to F1 Nation.

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Top 10 F1 Explains Episodes

Goodpods has curated a list of the 10 best F1 Explains episodes, ranked by the number of listens and likes each episode have garnered from our listeners. If you are listening to F1 Explains for the first time, there's no better place to start than with one of these standout episodes. If you are a fan of the show, vote for your favorite F1 Explains episode by adding your comments to the episode page.

F1 Explains - How F1 lap times are recorded
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07/04/24 • 31 min

In F1, every thousandth of a second is crucial. Drivers' performances are often separated by less than the blink of an eye, so how are F1 cars timed so accurately?
To find out, Christian and Katie speak to James Clarke, a highly-trained F1 timekeeper. James explains the technology on cars and at circuits which make the timing system work, how lap times and race positions are accurately recorded, and what happens if two drivers set identical times.
Get your question answered by an F1 expert
Record a voice note, write an email and send it to [email protected]
Find the answer in our previous episodes
Priceless cars, team headquarters, crucial equipment, thousands of spare parts, tyres, fuel... and the Team Principal's favourite coffee. Every item F1 teams need to compete is moved from race to race by an amazing team of logistics experts.
Formula 1's Global Logistics Partner, DHL, moves the sport around the world. It's a year-round, tight deadline task which is being achieved more sustainably than ever before - using bio-fuelled trucks and efficient freighter aircraft.
  • Paul Fowler, DHL Vice President of Global Motorsport, tells us how the company gets F1 from track to track.
  • Giorgia Tirabassi, DHL Trackside Co-ordinator - reveals the behind-the-scenes work to make sure F1 teams have everything they need in time to race, and how she handles the unexpected challenge of a last-minute delivery
Every Formula 1 team has its own logistics staff. Alfa Romeo's Deputy Head of Race Part Logistics, Josef Pfandl, explains how he moves tens of thousands of parts from race to race. Plus, how F1 team motorhomes are transported, and what it's like to drive a truck packed with invaluable F1 equipment across Europe.
Got a question about how F1 works? Christian, Katie and our team of experts would love to answer it. Record a voice note on your phone or write us an email and send it to [email protected]
Check out our previous episodes:
For in-depth interviews with F1's biggest names, listen to F1 Beyond The Grid. For race previews and reviews, head over to F1 Nation.

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How does a Formula 1 team stay fit, healthy and ready to race? The team's Physiotherapist (or Physical Therapist) treats every member of the team like an athlete, helping pit crew members avoid or recover from injury, keeping engineers active and making sure jet lag doesn't knock mechanics off their game.
Faith Atack-Martin from Combine Performance works with Haas F1 Team. She tells Katie Osborne and Christian Hewgill how she looks after the staff who travel to races all over the world, and how her job involves everything from filling water bottles to white-water rafting.
Kelly from Birmingham, UK inspired this episode of F1 Explains. You can suggest a topic for a future podcast by emailing your question to [email protected]
You might find your answer in a previous episode:
F1 Explains - Inside the F1 Pit Lane - with Bernie Collins
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11/15/24 • 29 min

It's where pit crews go to work, where strategies are decided and where races can be won and lost.
Katie and Christian step into the Formula 1 pit lane to put your questions to former Aston Martin Head of Race Strategy Bernie Collins.
Bernie explains how the length and speed limit of the pit lane affects race strategy, why every team's pit box is different, what all the screens and buttons on the team pit wall are for and what it's like to be in the pit lane during a Grand Prix.
'Hi F1 Explains, my F1 question is...'
Be part of the podcast. Send your question to [email protected]
10 Teams, 20 Drivers, 1 Massive Season Launch
A groundbreaking season launch event at London’s The O2 – featuring all the teams, their drivers and team bosses, plus top entertainment – ahead of the 2025 campaign.
18.02.25!

Listen to more official F1 podcasts

Discover F1 Unlocked
Unseen. Unheard. F1 Unlocked. Dive into exclusive content from F1 experts, redeem rewards and enter money-can't-buy competitions. Click here to join for free

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They're the voice in the driver's ear, guiding them through every lap. F1 drivers can't compete without their race engineers, but why are they so important?
Alfa Romeo's Zhou Guanyu and his race engineer Jorn Becker join Formula Why to answer your questions. Why do engineers speak like they do? Why do they use some words and not others? Why are all F1 Team Radio messages in English? Zhou and Jorn explain the secrets of a great driver/race engineer team.
We want to answer your questions on Formula Why! Record or write them, and send them to [email protected]
Check out these other episodes of Formula Why
Thanks for listening. Please rate and review Formula Why and invite a friend to join in using the share button and #FormulaWhy

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Racing more regionally. New power for the F1 Paddock. Game-changing fuels for F1 cars and, potentially, your car. Big things are happening to help make Formula 1 more sustainable.
Christian and Katie ask F1's Head of Sustainability, Ellen Jones, why re-organising the race calendar for 2024 will help reduce the sport's carbon footprint. Ellen also reveals how F1's trialling new ways of reducing the amount of energy used at races and developing a game-changing sustainable fuel with potential to transform the way we all travel in the future.
McLaren's CEO, Zak Brown, and Sustainability Director Kim Wilson reveal how Lando Norris' race seat and the lake outside their factory are helping the team cut carbon.
We'd love to answer your F1 question. Record or write it, then email it to [email protected]
Why not listen to another episode? For in-depth interviews with F1's biggest names, listen to F1 Beyond The Grid. For race previews and reviews, head over to F1 Nation.

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Why don't F1 drivers get to keep their trophies? How do F1 people cope with travel? What do drivers actually mean when they talk about having 'pace in the car'?
Bernie Collins, former Aston Martin F1 strategist, and Will Buxton, F1TV presenter, are back with Christian and Katie to answer these questions and more.
Bernie tells us about a time a driver was allowed to keep a special trophy, while Will explains how drivers avoid jet lag during the Singapore night race.
We'd love to answer your F1 question. Record or write it, then email it to [email protected]
Why not listen to another episode? For in-depth interviews with F1's biggest names, listen to F1 Beyond The Grid. For race previews and reviews, head over to F1 Nation.

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What do reserve drivers do? Why are F1 stars weighed after every race? What is the racing line (and how can it help you when doing grocery shopping)?
Cindy from California, Ana in India, Pierre from France and lots more F1 Explains listeners sent in questions about the life of an F1 driver. Christian Hewgill and Katie Osborne get the answers from Red Bull Reserve Driver, Liam Lawson.
Liam explains how drivers change approach between an all-out qualifying lap and a long race stint. He tells us about understeer and oversteer, and why drivers hit some trackside kerbs but avoid others.
Send us your question and we'll find the F1 expert to answer it
Write an email or record a voice note and send it to [email protected]
Learn more about F1 with our previous episodes: More Official F1 Podcasts
  • For in-depth interviews with F1's biggest stars, listen to F1 Beyond The Grid
  • For race previews and reviews from inside the F1 paddock, listen to F1 Nation
Experience Formula 1 live this season
Tickets for races in Texas, Las Vegas, across Europe and around the world are available now. Go to tickets.formula1.com to book your seats

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F1 Explains - Netflix Drive to Survive: behind the scenes
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02/24/24 • 35 min

The latest season of Drive To Survive is another fascinating look inside Formula 1. How is the show planned, filmed and edited? How do the producers decide what stories to tell? What does the future hold for the series?
To find out, Christian and Katie speak to Drive to Survive's award-winning Executive Producer, James Gay-Rees of Box To Box Films.
F1 Explains is the official F1 podcast which answers your questions about how F1 works.
Send us your F1 question and we'll find the expert to answer it
Write an email or record a voice note and send it to [email protected]
Learn more about F1 with our previous episodes:
2023
As high-performance athletes, F1 drivers have to eat the right things at the right times. Everything they eat and drink, plus the timing of their meals, is carefully planned by expert nutritionists like Dr Dan Martin from Combine Performance. Dan works with McLaren's Oscar Piastri.
Christian Hewgill and Katie Osborne find out what an F1 driver's diet is and how it helps them perform at their best. We also get the story behind the banana smoothie which interrupted a previous F1 Explains interview with Piastri...
Get your F1 question answered by an expert
Record it as a voice note or write it in an email and send it to [email protected]
Learn more about F1 with our previous episodes: