Tom’s heading to Melbourne for the Australian Grand Prix, but who’s his guest on this week’s F1 Beyond The Grid? Follow F1 Beyond The Grid for the fastest way to get the next episode.

Formula 1 loves a feel-good story and the Minardi fairy-tale is no exception. They wrote one of the most heart-warming chapters in the sport’s history. Mark Webber’s fifth-place finish on his debut at the Australian Grand Prix in 2002 is one of many fond memories cherished by former team boss Paul Stoddart. A year earlier, Paul wasn’t even sure they’d be quick enough to qualify for the first race. But his confidence in a 19 year-old Fernando Alonso was rewarded and the team started life in F1 much better than expected. Paul tells Tom Clarkson the moment he realised Alonso had what it takes to become a World Champion, why the Spaniard still has that burning desire to compete at the very top and how to be his best at Aston Martin. Paul also remembers Michael Schumacher’s manners and the eye-opening time he lapped Ferrari’s test track with the seven-time champion. Plus, how Max Verstappen’s winning mentality was clear to see at a young age, when he raced his father Jos in a simulator. This episode is sponsored by: MoneyGram: Flex your finances using the only digital wallets with real cash access activated by MoneyGram. Learn more at moneygram.com/stellarwallets. ExpressVPN: visit expressvpn.com/grid and you’ll get three extra months free. Babbel: listeners can get three months free with a purchase of a 3- month subscription with promo code BEYOND. Go to babbel.com/podcast23

A returning champion. A legendary rival. A chance to rise above the rest. 1993 was the year Alain Prost set himself apart from his competitors and became a four-time F1 World Champion. At the time, he was only the second driver to win more than three titles. But his fourth triumph was far from easy. Prost was racing against his long-term foe, McLaren’s Ayrton Senna. He had to get used to a brand-new car, with technology he had never experienced before. There were behind-the-scenes issues at his Williams team. Prost was also considering his future, and life after Formula 1. 30 years on, Alain tells Tom Clarkson his memories of his final F1 title, the end of his F1 career, and how close he came to a final chapter as Michael Schumacher’s Ferrari teammate. This episode is sponsored by: Moneygram: convert your digital currency to cash and back again using the only digital wallets with real cash access activated by MoneyGram. Learn more at moneygram.com/stellarwallets.

Win races. Catch F1’s ‘big three’ teams. Turn ‘beasts’ into team players. Laurent Rossi’s to-do list is intimidating. The Alpine CEO runs the French road car company and the F1 operation, which is split between France and the UK. He grew up in a racing heartland. He studied at leading universities and worked at top-tier companies. All that experience helped him handle clashing teammates Esteban Ocon and Fernando Alonso in 2022. Alpine’s 2023 line-up, Ocon and Pierre Gasly, have been rivals since they were 6 years old. Now, Rossi needs them to work together to help the team ‘climb the mountain’, and close the gap to Mercedes, Ferrari and Red Bull. Laurent tells Tom Clarkson how he and Team Principal Otmar Szafnauer plan to make Alpine winners. He also explains what the team learned from the 2022 departure of junior driver Oscar Piastri, who now races with McLaren. This episode is sponsored by: Babbel: get three months free with a purchase of a 3- month subscription. Go to babbel.com/podcast23 and use promo code BEYOND. F1 Unlocked: you and a friend could win the ‘Key to the Grand Prix’ in Melbourne and unlock a level of access that’ll make you want to pinch yourself. Go to F1.com/competition to enter and for full terms and conditions.

A dream start. A disappointing finish. 2022 was Charles Leclerc’s best F1 season so far. But for him and for Ferrari, only the World Championship is enough. Now, a fresh challenge. Ahead of a new campaign, Charles is determined to take the trophy for himself. In the first new episode of 2023, Charles tells Tom Clarkson why missing out on the title in 2022 has made him the best he’s ever been. He reveals the soul-searching and changes at Ferrari since last season, and explains why new Team Principal Fred Vasseur is the right person to lead the famous red team to success. Plus, how going ice climbing, learning to fly and playing the piano helps Charles escape from the constant pressure of F1. The piano Tom brought to the interview isn’t very good, but Charles’ playing certainly is… New episodes of F1 Beyond The Grid every week during the F1 season. Hit follow for the fastest way to get them. Share using #F1BeyondTheGrid. This episode is sponsored by: F1TV: for a limited time F1 are offering a 7-day free trial for F1 TV Pro subscribers. Simply go to F1TV.com to sign-up and take your race weekend to the next level! LinkedIn Jobs: find the qualified candidates you want to talk to, faster. Post your job for free at linkedin.com/GRID.

F1 is no ordinary sport. These are no ordinary interviews. Join Tom Clarkson for a new season of in-depth conversations with the sport’s biggest stars and brightest minds. New episodes begin Wednesday March 1st. Follow the podcast for the fastest way to get new episodes. Share using #F1BeyondTheGrid

21 drivers are getting ready for the first race of 2023 – the 20 F1 racers and Bernd Maylander, driver of the F1 Safety Car. When Bernd hits the track, in bad weather or after a crash, his job is to keep the F1 field to a safe speed until they can go racing again. He’s often criticised for driving too slowly, but as he told Tom Clarkson in 2020, that’s simply not true. For more Safety Car secrets from Bernd, check out the full conversation here

Drive to Survive Season 5 is out now on Netflix, which means more behind-the-scenes moments with Haas Team Principal Guenther Steiner. He’s become an F1 paddock rockstar, but he’s still a boss who takes big decisions. In 2022, Guenther told Tom Clarkson about his celebrity status and his style of management. Hear a different side of Steiner in the full BTG interview here

A winner from the World Championship’s first decade, the 1950s, Tony Brooks took F1 victories for Vanwall and Ferrari. Amazingly he’d studied to be a dentist before becoming a full-time racing driver. On what would have been Tony’s 91st birthday, Tom Clarkson revisits a 2019 conversation about the daring deeds of the first F1 stars. Listen to the full interview with Tony Brooks here for more stories from the early years of the F1 World Championship. New weekly episodes of F1 Beyond The Grid start Wednesday March 1st.

F1 test sessions can reveal technical problems with cars, or unlock extra performance. They can also reveal stars of the future. Pedro de la Rosa, one of F1’s most experienced test drivers, was there to witness Lewis Hamilton’s first drive in an F1 car in September 2006. The Spaniard was stunned by Hamilton’s speed and what a ‘massive problem’ he’d cause anyone trying to beat him. On Beyond The Grid, Pedro told Tom Clarkson his memories of the test and his own magical F1 debut. Pedro’s full interview from 2020 is right here. F1 Beyond The Grid’s new season begins on Wednesday March 1st. Get the latest from pre-season testing on F1.com, the F1 app and F1 on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and TikTok.

On the eve of the 2009 F1 season, Jenson Button and Brawn GP shocked the sport. The team, which barely survived the previous winter after the withdrawal of owners Honda, arrived at the final pre-season test with a car that had never been driven at full racing speed before. Immediately, it was fastest of all. Jenson Button told Tom Clarkson about that test day, and why dominating the early stages of the 2009 season felt far from easy. You can listen to the full BTG interview with Jenson Button here. New episodes of F1 Beyond The Grid start Wednesday March 1st. Get the latest from pre-season testing on F1.com, the F1 app and F1 on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and TikTok.

24 years ago, the original “Flying Finn” became a two-time F1 World Champion. That puts Mika Hakkinen in an exclusive club of just 11 drivers who have won F1 titles in consecutive years, which also includes Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton. In this feature-length interview from the BTG archive, Mika tells Tom Clarkson about recovering from a serious crash to take on Michael Schumacher and win back-to-back championships with McLaren in 1998 and 1999. New episodes of F1 Beyond The Grid begin Wednesday March 1st. Follow the podcast on your player for in-depth interviews with F1’s biggest stars every week. This episode is sponsored by: ExpressVPN: go to expressvpn.com/GRID today and get an extra three months free on a one-year package. F1 TV: F1 are offering fans 20% off their annual F1 TV Pro Subscriptions, simply go to F1TV.com to sign-up. Offer automatically updates at check out. F1 TV Pro is only available in select territories, check the website for more details Shopify: sign up for a one-dollar-per-month trial period at shopify.com/beyondthegrid

Who has won more F1 world titles than Lewis Hamilton and Michael Schumacher combined? Aldo Costa. The Italian engineer’s work has helped Ferrari, Mercedes and their drivers win a total of 26 World Championships. That makes him a good person to talk to about winning, dealing with pressure and why it’s important to allow engineers to try, fail, and try again. Tom Clarkson is picking archive highlights in the build-up up to the new season of F1 Beyond The Grid. Follow the podcast and look out for a brand new episode on Wednesday March 1st. To hear more winning secrets and stories from Aldo Costa, tap here

F1 loves Japan: the passionate fans, the stunning racetracks, and the exciting drivers. Yuki Tsunoda wants to be his country’s first F1 winner. In this clip, recorded during Yuki’s rookie season in 2021, he told Tom Clarkson about his love of Tokyo and how former Japanese racers have helped him in his career. Yuki talks food, swearing and friendships in the full interview. Listen right here.

A straight-talking, no nonsense, modern F1 legend Kimi Raikkonen became World Champion doing things his way. Before his final Grand Prix in 2021, Kimi told Tom Clarkson about his first drive in a Formula 1 car and whether age slowed him down. Look out for another archive highlight tomorrow. A brand-new episode of F1 Beyond The Grid will be with you on Wednesday March 1st. Kimi’s full, rare, in-depth interview is a must-listen. Hear it here.

By age 2, Kevin Magnussen was already driving. What else do you expect from the child of an F1 driver? In this clip from 2019, Kevin tells Tom Clarkson how his racing career was inspired by his father Jan – a former McLaren driver – and encouraged by his mother, Britt. Follow F1 Beyond The Grid for daily archive clips in the build up to a brand-new episode on Wednesday March 1st. Want more Magnussen? Kevin’s 2019 BTG appearance is here. His 2022 interview can be heard here

The Hulk is back in Formula 1, and he’s hunting a first podium finish. Revisit Nico’s 2019 interview on times a top three finish narrowly eluded him and his love of classic road cars. Tom Clarkson is choosing 30 highlights from the BTG archive in the run-up to brand new episodes, starting Wednesday March 1st. To get to know Nico before his F1 return, listen to his full BTG interview here

As Alpine unveil their car for the 2023 F1 season, enjoy an all-time favourite Beyond The Grid story from Esteban Ocon. In 2018 he told Tom Clarkson how his family sold their property to help his race towards Formula 1. 30 Days of BTG is building up to the first new episode of 2023 on Wednesday March 1st. To hear the full 2018 interview with Esteban, listen here. You can listen to his second BTG appearance from 2022 here.

He seemed destined to drive for Mercedes, but first George Russell had to prove himself at Williams. This is an in-depth conversation recorded in 2020, Russell’s second F1 season. He told Tom Clarkson how he first caught the eye of the Mercedes Young Driver Programme and how he introduced himself to Team Principal Toto Wolff. Plus, racing against friends, karting memories and how sim-racing kept him sharp when Covid 19 delayed the start of the season. F1 Beyond The Grid’s 30 Day pre-season series continues tomorrow. Follow the podcast so you don’t miss our next highlight from the archive. New weekly episodes start on Wednesday March 1st. George made a second appearance on F1 Beyond The Grid in 2022. You can listen to that here

On the day Ferrari launch their 2023 F1 car, hear how Charles Leclerc followed his father into motorsport. Charles told Tom Clarkson about racing and winning in Formula 2 on the weekend his father died, and how he races on to honour him. For the full 2018 interview with Charles, recorded before he joined Ferrari, head here 30 Days of BTG continues tomorrow with a full episode from the archive. Season 6 starts on Wednesday March 1st.