F1 2025 Japan GP Saturday: Verstappen Steals Pole As McLaren Stumble

Formula 1 is heading back across the pond to the United States for Round 6 of the World Championship and the Hard Rock Stadium for the sport’s third trip to the streets of Miami, this time as a Sprint weekend. But alongside that, it's been a huge week of news off the track. Filip Cleeren and Jake Boxall-Legge join Bryn Lucas on the Autosport Podcast to discuss the the news that Red Bull Chief Designer Adrian Newey is set to quit the team after a deteroiation in his relationship with team principal Christian Horner. Could Newey be heading to rivals Aston Martin or Ferrari, or could he retire altogether? It was also announced that Nico Hulkenberg will be leaving Haas at the end of the season to return to Sauber for 2025, a year before Audi fully takes over the Swiss team. How big a blow will it be for Haas, and what does it mean for current Sauber drivers Zhou Guanyu and Valtteri Bottas? And just how "blue" will Ferrari be over the Miami weekend? The team also discuss the tyre strategy expected on Miami's streets, why half the grid are brining upgrade packages for the weekend, and ponder whether the changes to the Sprint format will mean more extreme setups from teams across the weekend. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

30 Apr 202444min

The British Touring Car Championship returns for its 2024 Season this weekend with its opening round at Donington Park, and with it, big changes to the series as a whole. A new "IndyCar" style Qualifying system with two-group, elimination format, a forced harder compund tyre change in Race 2 for the Top 10 finishers in Race 1, and a doubling in hybrid boost to aid overtaking. On the Autosport Podcast, Tom Howard and Stephen Lickorish talk about what impact the changes may have on the series, as well as discuss all the key contenders. Is it a fight between Ash Sutton and Colin Turkington for their fifth titles? Is it Tom Ingram pushing for a second crown? And what about the chasing pack of Jake Hill, Dan Cammish or Josh Cook? The support classes get a full preview as well with Porsche Carrera Cup, British Formula Four Championship and the Mini Challenge all featuring! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

26 Apr 202449min

The 2023 Formula 1 offseason marked the first time in the sport's history that all 20 drivers on the grid that finished last season, stayed with their original teams. But when Lewis Hamilton announced in February that he was switching to Ferrari for 2025, it opened the floodgates to some of the earliest "silly season" dialogue that the sport has ever seen. In this edition of the Autosport Podcast, Bryn Lucas sits down with Grand Prix Editor Alex Kalinauckas to discuss the possibilities as to where drivers could be heading for 2025, including the latest on both Red Bull drivers, Mercedes push for Andrea Kimi Antonelli from F2, where Carlos Sainz fits into the equation, and seeing if Sauber could take a chance on Nico Hulkenberg as Audi begins to exert their influence on the team. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

24 Apr 202438min

It was a rain-affected classic as Round 2 of the World Endurance Championship headed to Emilia-Romagna and the 6 Hours of Imola. Ferrari were hopeful for home glory after a perfect 1-2-3 in Qualifying, but a strategic blunder when the rain fell mid-race dashed all hope for the Italian manufacturer. On the Autosport podcast, Kevin Turner is joined by Gary Watkins as they break down just how Ferrari lost in Imola, how Kamui Kobayashi survived the rain, a massive fuel save at the end of the race, and the pressure of Kevin Estre in the Porsche Penske. There's also a chat about the state of the field's Balance of Performance and why Imola showed the FIA and ACO still might be missing the mark, and the LMGT3 category as Team WRT brought home a 1-2 finish for BMW, with MotoGP legend Valentino Rossi scoring his first WEC podium. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

23 Apr 202441min

Despite starting from fourth, he won the sprint race by 13 seconds, and then did it again during the grand prix, starting from pole and comfortably cruising to the win. Joining Bryn Lucas on the show are Filip Cleeren and Jake Boxall-Legge as they dissect the more interesting stories beneath the surface, such as Lando Norris turning a "damage limitation" round into a second-place finish. Also, Mercedes continued to struggle as Hamilton had a tale of two weekends - second in the sprint, but recovering to ninth from 18th in the grand prix, and a bizarre crash on a restart as Lance Stroll drove hard into the rear of Daniel Ricciardo. And finally, F1 is considering extending the current scoring system down to 12th, is that to solve the championship’s performance disparities or a genuine scrap for the midfield? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

21 Apr 202450min

Who doesn't love a good livery? In the final episode of our Top 10 Series on the British Touring Car Championship, Martyn Lee, Kevin Turner, Tom Howard and Motorsport Vision and Super Touring Power organiser Tom Arron sit down to debate their 10 favourite liveries in BTCC history. Now this isn't just the best looking of them all, it's twinned with overall heritage and impact within the series. From the classic white, blues and reds of the 90's BMW to Matt Neal's Ford Mondeo and the big, bold "100+" sponsorship, and references to Scalextric sets of the 90's, many a disagreement was held as our final list was formed! Thanks for listening to our Top 10 Series and check back next week for our 2024 BTCC Season Preview! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

19 Apr 20241h

In the final episode of our Driven to Succeed series, Autosport Chief Editor Kevin Turner sits down with Harry King, star of the Porsche Supercup series. In this exclusive interview, Harry talks about his 2023 season and how he's aiming to go two better than his third-place finish in the standings, his recent class win at the 12 Hours of Bathurst and why he's flirting with more GT3 drives in the future, and what inspired him to get into Motorsport! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

17 Apr 202420min

For the first time in 105 Grand Prix, and after five years on the shelf, Formula 1 is back at the Shanghai International Circuit for the Chinese Grand Prix this weekend, back at a time when Max Verstappen only had five wins in F1, and not 57! Joining Bryn Lucas on the Autosport F1 Podcast is Alex Kalinauckas and Filip Cleeren as they discuss the new 2025 F1 Calendar being revealed early, whether Fernando Alonso is still in top form as he signs an extension to keep him in F1 until Age 45, whether the nature of Shanghai itself will bring Ferrari into contention, and look back on some of their favourite Chinese Grand Prix memories! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

15 Apr 202438min