Five years after Carlos Sainz left McLaren, his former team and his former teammate are the reigning Formula 1 World Champions. As he watched Lando Norris reach the summit of world motorsport, did he ever think ‘that could have been me?’.  
Speaking to Tom Clarkson, Carlos reflects on leaving McLaren and becoming a race winner with Ferrari before joining Williams. He remembers feeling ‘powerless’ during a difficult start to the 2025 season, and reveals the work which led him to stand on the podium later in the year.
Carlos gives his first impressions of the 2026 F1 cars and explains why he wants to use the ‘peak’ of his career to take Williams back to the top.


Listen to other official F1 Podcasts
F1 Nation Australia Grand Prix Preview
F1 Explains: what you need to know for 2026


This episode is sponsored by: 

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<div>Five years after Carlos Sainz left McLaren, his former team and his former teammate are the reigning Formula 1 World Champions. As he watched Lando Norris reach the summit of world motorsport, did he ever think ‘that could have been me?’.  </div><br><div>Speaking to Tom Clarkson, Carlos reflects on leaving McLaren and becoming a race winner with Ferrari before joining Williams. He remembers feeling ‘powerless’ during a difficult start to the 2025 season, and reveals the work which led him to stand on the podium later in the year.</div><br><div>Carlos gives his first impressions of the 2026 F1 cars and explains why he wants to use the ‘peak’ of his career to take Williams back to the top.</div><br><div>
<p><strong>Listen to other official F1 Podcasts</strong><br><a href="https://www.podfollow.com/f1-nation">F1 Nation Australia Grand Prix Preview</a><br><a href="https://www.podfollow.com/f1-nation">F1 Explains: what you need to know for 2026</a><br> </p><p>This episode is sponsored by: </p><p>Shopify: sign up for your one-dollar-per-month trial today at <a href="http://shopify.com/beyondthegrid">shopify.com/beyondthegrid</a></p><p>Quince: go to <a href="http://quince.com/GRID">quince.com/GRID</a> for free shipping and 365-day returns.</p><p>CarGurus: buy or sell your next car today with CarGurus at <a href="http://cargurus.com">cargurus.com</a></p></div>

Formula 1's fastest stars slow down for in-depth interviews. Tom Clarkson brings you revealing, feature-length conversations with drivers, team bosses, engineering experts and F1 legends.

Hit the follow button for the fastest way to get new episodes. Watch episodes exclusively on the F1 YouTube channel.

An official Formula 1 podcast. For race reviews + previews, listen to F1 Nation. To learn more about how F1 works, listen to F1 Explains

F1: Beyond The Grid

Carlos Sainz: pushing for progress with Williams

Red Bull Racing were at a crossroads when Laurent Mekies took over as Team Principal halfway through 2025. After a difficult first half of the season, should they continue working on their 2025 car or write that year off and prioritise the new regulations for 2026?
Their decision to stay focussed on the ‘25 car paid off, with Max Verstappen going from more than 100 points behind to missing out on the title by just two points. But in this new era of Formula 1, Red Bull have fallen down the pecking order after a difficult start to the season.
Speaking to Tom Clarkson, Laurent explains why they didn’t switch full focus to 2026 earlier and whether they’re now paying the price for last year’s turnaround.
Laurent also talks about how different his experience as a Team Principal is at Red Bull compared to Racing Bulls. He shares insight into what Max Verstappen is like outside of the car, the Dutchman’s future with the team and how Isack Hadjar is settling into his new surroundings.


Plus, with Red Bull making their own power units for the first time this year, Laurent tells Tom why he describes their Powertrains project as a ‘crazy challenge’ that only a team like Red Bull could take on.

Race reviews + your questions answered
Listen to the latest episodes of F1 Nation and F1 Explains

This episode is sponsored by CarGurus
Go to cargurus.co.uk for complete vehicle details without any surprises.

<div>Red Bull Racing were at a crossroads when Laurent Mekies took over as Team Principal halfway through 2025. After a difficult first half of the season, should they continue working on their 2025 car or write that year off and prioritise the new regulations for 2026?</div><br><div>Their decision to stay focussed on the ‘25 car paid off, with Max Verstappen going from more than 100 points behind to missing out on the title by just two points. But in this new era of Formula 1, Red Bull have fallen down the pecking order after a difficult start to the season.</div><br><div>Speaking to Tom Clarkson, Laurent explains why they didn’t switch full focus to 2026 earlier and whether they’re now paying the price for last year’s turnaround.</div><br><div>Laurent also talks about how different his experience as a Team Principal is at Red Bull compared to Racing Bulls. He shares insight into what Max Verstappen is like outside of the car, the Dutchman’s future with the team and how Isack Hadjar is settling into his new surroundings.</div><br><div>
<p>Plus, with Red Bull making their own power units for the first time this year, Laurent tells Tom why he describes their Powertrains project as a ‘crazy challenge’ that only a team like Red Bull could take on.</p><p><strong>Race reviews + your questions answered<br></strong><a href="https://www.podfollow.com/f1-nation">Listen to the latest episodes of F1 Nation and F1 Explains</a></p><p><strong>This episode is sponsored by CarGurus</strong><br>Go to <a href="http://cargurus.co.uk">cargurus.co.uk</a> for complete vehicle details without any surprises.</p></div>

Laurent Mekies: relishing Red Bull challenge

Haas Team Principal Ayao Komatsu is Tom Clarkson’s guest on this week’s F1 Beyond The Grid.
Ayao has been with Haas since their debut season 10 years ago, but he’s only been in charge since 2024. What has he learned about leadership in that time? How did he guide the team’s recovery from such a difficult start last season? And what are Haas’ targets in the new era of Formula 1?
As for the drivers, Ayao tells Tom what he wants to see from Esteban Ocon this year and how long they can hold on to Ollie Bearman if his eye-catching performances continue.


Ayao also reveals a lot about his relationship with owner Gene Haas and what Toyota bring to the table as the team’s technical partner.

F1 Nation + F1 Explains are together in 2026
Get race reviews + answers to your questions all in one place

This episode is sponsored by Vanta: get started at vanta.com/GRID

<div>Haas Team Principal Ayao Komatsu is Tom Clarkson’s guest on this week’s F1 Beyond The Grid.</div><br><div>Ayao has been with Haas since their debut season 10 years ago, but he’s only been in charge since 2024. What has he learned about leadership in that time? How did he guide the team’s recovery from such a difficult start last season? And what are Haas’ targets in the new era of Formula 1?</div><br><div>As for the drivers, Ayao tells Tom what he wants to see from Esteban Ocon this year and how long they can hold on to Ollie Bearman if his eye-catching performances continue.</div><br><div>
<p>Ayao also reveals a lot about his relationship with owner Gene Haas and what Toyota bring to the table as the team’s technical partner.</p><p><strong>F1 Nation + F1 Explains are together in 2026<br></strong><a href="https://www.podfollow.com/f1-nation">Get race reviews + answers to your questions all in one place</a></p><p>This episode is sponsored by Vanta: get started at <a href="http://vanta.com/GRID">vanta.com/GRID</a></p></div>

Ayao Komatsu: aiming high with Haas

The son of a motorsport legend, a racer since childhood, Formula 1 was Jacques Villeneuve's destiny. In 1996, the young Canadian arrived at his first Grand Prix and immediately proved he belonged there by taking pole position. 

In his rookie season Villeneuve won races, went wheel-to-wheel with Michael Schumacher and took Williams teammate Damon Hill to a final race title-decider. 30 years on, he sits down with Tom Clarkson to remember how he shook up the sport. 

Jacques explains why he left IndyCar as reigning champion to join Williams in Formula 1, and how racing on ovals influenced how he drove Grands Prix. He talks about working with race engineer Jock Clear, and experimenting with his throttle pedal and steering wheel paddles to find extra performance.

Tom asks Jacques about the highlights of his first year in F1: his first pole position, his first race win and the spectacular pass he made on Michael Schumacher - an overtaking move still regarded as one of the best in F1 history.

F1 Nation + F1 Explains are together in 2026
Get race reviews + answers to your questions all in one place

This episode is sponsored by:
CarGurus: buy or sell your next car today at cargurus.com

 Shopify: sign up for your one-dollar-per-month trial today at shopify.com/beyondthegrid

 Saily: get an exclusive 15% discount on your first Saily data plans! Use code grid at
 checkout. Download Saily app or go to to https://saily.com/grid

<div>
<p>The son of a motorsport legend, a racer since childhood, Formula 1 was Jacques Villeneuve's destiny. In 1996, the young Canadian arrived at his first Grand Prix and immediately proved he belonged there by taking pole position. </p><p>In his rookie season Villeneuve won races, went wheel-to-wheel with Michael Schumacher and took Williams teammate Damon Hill to a final race title-decider. 30 years on, he sits down with Tom Clarkson to remember how he shook up the sport. </p><p>Jacques explains why he left IndyCar as reigning champion to join Williams in Formula 1, and how racing on ovals influenced how he drove Grands Prix. He talks about working with race engineer Jock Clear, and experimenting with his throttle pedal and steering wheel paddles to find extra performance.</p><p>Tom asks Jacques about the highlights of his first year in F1: his first pole position, his first race win and the spectacular pass he made on Michael Schumacher - an overtaking move still regarded as one of the best in F1 history.</p><p><strong>F1 Nation + F1 Explains are together in 2026<br></strong><a href="https://www.podfollow.com/f1-nation">Get race reviews + answers to your questions all in one place</a></p><p><strong>This episode is sponsored by:<br></strong>CarGurus: buy or sell your next car today at <a href="https://eur01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fcargurus.com%2F&amp;data=05%7C02%7CCBrowning-Brant%40f1.com%7Cb15836396ecf4234538108de8430ba0c%7Cb792abe295a94aff9e3a4beb3206df89%7C0%7C0%7C639093541993820014%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&amp;sdata=IG59pl8gj5Dp%2F0xr53uneKx%2B%2B7nW2DfKe%2BPSG3XpYQY%3D&amp;reserved=0">cargurus.com</a> <br> <br> Shopify: sign up for your one-dollar-per-month trial today at <a href="https://eur01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fshopify.com%2Fbeyondthegrid&amp;data=05%7C02%7CCBrowning-Brant%40f1.com%7Cb15836396ecf4234538108de8430ba0c%7Cb792abe295a94aff9e3a4beb3206df89%7C0%7C0%7C639093541993848940%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&amp;sdata=qM4I3X5qm3StGzj6DIwFkUyPUnpgSJ8OBJwOw5hvCVA%3D&amp;reserved=0">shopify.com/beyondthegrid</a><br> <br> Saily: get an exclusive 15% discount on your first Saily data plans! Use code grid at<br> checkout. Download Saily app or go to to <a href="https://eur01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fsaily.com%2Fgrid&amp;data=05%7C02%7CCBrowning-Brant%40f1.com%7Cb15836396ecf4234538108de8430ba0c%7Cb792abe295a94aff9e3a4beb3206df89%7C0%7C0%7C639093541993868681%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&amp;sdata=MPoOXoClkvZDsplMztfe5Rq7h7gXHCt4fSRW5ug98%2Fw%3D&amp;reserved=0">https://saily.com/grid<br></a><br></p></div>

Carlos Sainz: pushing for progress with Williams

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