F1: Beyond The Grid

To say Claire Williams has racing in her blood would be an understatement. But despite being born into and raised around one of F1’s most successful teams, it’s fair to say she never expected to one day find herself taking the reins of her family squad.  On this week’s episode of Beyond The Grid, presented by Bose, the daughter of legendary team boss Sir Frank Williams spills the beans on how she came to take the position of Deputy Team Principal (including the crucial role played by Toto Wolff!), provides fascinating insight into how she twins running a team with motherhood, recounts epic tales of growing up in a racing family, and lifts the lid on the driver who once lost a potential drive with the team for being too tidy!

He’s regarded as one of the very best drivers of all-time; a man who, when he walked away from F1, had amassed three world championship titles and a then-record 27 Grand Prix victories. But that he was able to walk away at all was something of a success in itself, for so many of his friend and rivals were not so fortunate in an era when death lurked around every corner.  This week’s guest on Beyond The Grid, presented by Bose, is that icon of late Sixties and early Seventies F1 racing: Sir Jackie Stewart. Now 79, the proud Scot is still firing on all cylinders, so get ready for stories of flat-sharing with fellow champ Jim Clark, his view on what made him so successful, the perils and mind-set of racing in F1’s ‘killer years’, and why he eventually founded a Grand Prix-winning F1 team of his own…

He’s the only man in the last nine years other than Lewis Hamilton or Sebastian Vettel to win a world title. But what makes Nico Rosberg’s story so compelling is what happened immediately after his crowning glory when, seemingly at the peak of his powers, he walked away from F1.  On this week’s episode of Beyond The Grid, presented by Bose, the German talks in depth about his career, including what it took to beat childhood friend and rival Hamilton to the 2016 title, how it felt it emulate father Keke’s achievement, whether he’s had any regrets about early retirement, and how his life has changed since hanging up his helmet.

It takes a special kind of driver to get the call to race for Ferrari with less than a season of Grand Prix racing under your belt - especially when the man you’re set to replace is a world champion. Charles Leclerc is that driver.  The young man from Monaco has shown flashes of brilliance this year while racing for Sauber, but it’s not just his skills behind the wheel that set him apart - it’s his mental fortitude too. On this week’s episode of Beyond The Grid, presented by Bose, Leclerc explains to Tom how his racing persona was toughened by personal tragedy, including losing his father midway through his title-winning F2 campaign in 2017 and the passing of godfather Jules Bianchi in 2015\. He also discusses his thoughts on his impending move to F1’s most historic team, shares anecdotes of growing up around F1 drivers in Monaco and much, much more…

  He’s one of racing’s toughest nuts – a man who refused to let potentially life-changing injuries stand in the way of his dream of racing in Formula 1.  This week on Beyond The Grid, presented by Bose, we’re joined by Johnny Herbert, a man for whom the phrase ‘triumph over adversity’ seems tailor made. Once the bright young hope of British Motorsport, Herbert’s career came to an abrupt halt when he suffered horrific damage to his feet in an F3000 crash. But he refused to give in, battling his way onto the F1 grid less than a year later with truly remarkable results. In an enthralling discussion, Johnny explains how the accident changed his life and career, discusses his hat-trick of Grand Prix wins and describes life as Michael Schumacher’s team mate.