Motorsport journalist and podcaster
I preview the upcoming Austrian and Hungarian grands prix with last year’s podcast guests Luke Smith from Autosport and Chris Medland from Racer.
Formula One isn’t the first sport to resume from coronavirus-induced hiatus, but its 15-race, four-continent plan to return to business certainly makes it the most ambitious.
This weekend’s Austrian Grand Prix (5 July), the first of three races in a row, will mark the beginning of a racing schedule of unprecedented intensity. Eight European races are crammed into 10 weeks, and while the sport is yet to confirm the composition of its next tranche of events, its intention is to travel to Eurasia, Asia and the Americas before concluding with three grands prix in Bahrain and Abu Dhabi in December.
F1 is existentially wed to its international footprint. Its ‘world championship’ designation is dependent on the series traversing at least three continents, forcing it into a painful logistical challenge in a time of unpredictable border closures and lengthy quarantine times.
Nate Saunders from ESPN joins us to wrap up 18 weeks of F1 post-preseason and preview the first post-COVID Austrian Grand Prix. We also talk more about the name Dennis.
Episode 1 presented by Mobile Tyre Shop features Australian Formula 1® driver Daniel Ricciardo, who discusses the start of the F1® season in Austria, shares tales of life in lockdown in Western Australia, and offers some insights into his big move to McLaren for 2021.