[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And Hakkinen at the time was very much recognized as one of the quickest guys on the grid, wasn't he? Even in 95 before he won a race and he was the real deal.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] So how difficult was Adelaide that year? For people who can't remember, uhm, Mika Hakunen had this horrendous accident. And how hard was it for you to


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Carry on because, you know, it was marginal with Mika for quite a while. I'm guessing you were having to get back in the car, not knowing his health and his situation.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] What an amazing chat. Just a couple more things. Uhm, I mean, there have been, there were a few what ifs along the way, weren't there? If you could have done anything differently, is there one thing that stands out in Formula One?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And what about of the 61 races? Best race?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Awesome. And of course you're now a team boss. Just to fast forward it to the present.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Well look, best of luck with that. Best of luck with the next chapters in your life and thank you very much for your time. That was great chat. Thank you.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Just imagine if Mark had got that race seat at Williams in 93. How many F1 victories would sit alongside his name now? Careers can and often do turn on a sixpence in Formula One. But having said that, the fact that Mark didn't get to race for Williams added a depth of colour to his career that would surely make a good film.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] His fight back to a race seat was real boys own stuff and it proved that grit and determination still account for much in this big money sport.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And I love those stories about him and Brundle, the Brundle twins as they were known. It's a true Formula One bromance. Mark, thanks for your time. It was great to catch up and thanks too to Jo for her help in freeing up your diary.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Well, that's it for this week, but we'll be back in just seven sleeps with another great guest from the world of Formula One. In the meantime, if you want to drop me a message about the show, I'm at Tom Clarkson F1 on Twitter and you can use the hashtag F1 beyond the grid. Alex Griffin did just that after our podcast with Flavio Briatore last week.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Is as Flavio as you can get really. Great job from Tom Clarkson for setting him straight-ish.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Yeah, I could have pulled him back a bit straighter Alex, but glad you enjoyed the chat and thanks for your feedback. That's about it for this week. Beyond the Grid is produced by F1 in association with Audio Boom. Thanks for listening and until next time, stay safe, keep washing those hands and keep it flat out.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Hello all, Tom Clarkson here, welcoming you along to another episode of Beyond the Grid, presented by Bose QuietComfort 35II wireless headphones. Now, back in April, in China, Formula One celebrated the 1000th round of the World Championship.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And for this week's episode, I'm talking to a man who raced in the very first decade. Allow me to set the scene. This was the 1950s, a time when Grand Prix cars had engines in the front and no seat belts, yet they could still be raced at more than 250 kilometres an hour.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Races were long, 200 kilometres longer than today, and the tracks were brutal. It was the deadliest era in the history of the sport and many great drivers lost their lives.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And it was into this environment, alongside the likes of Sterling Moss and the great Juan Manuel Fangio, that this week's guest arrived in 1956 from, rather unbelievably, the considerably more sedate world of dentistry.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] He'd go on to compete in 38 world championship races.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Winning six times, giving him a better strike rate than many drivers more well known, including Jochen Rint, John Sertes and Nino Farina. Yet he remained incredibly down to earth, shunning the limelight and retiring before he turned 30.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Sterling Moss once remarked that in his perfect driver line-up, he'd take this week's guest as his number one, and Jim Clark as his number two. And accolades don't get much higher than that. I'm talking of course about Tony Brooks.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] He was kind enough to invite me to his beautiful apartment in Surrey for a look back on a remarkable career that saw him win the first ever world constructors championship with VanWall and go ever so close to the driver's crown with Ferrari. It was a fascinating chat. I hope you enjoy.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] It sounded like you needed incredible bravery. Did you consider yourself a brave person? Did you think you were doing something very different to your contemporaries?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Let's talk about that race. Can you just describe it? Because it was a bit of an adventure for you, wasn't it? Can you remember getting the call to do the race?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] So flying to your first Grand Prix in your mind.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] You were still a dental surgeon first and a racing driver second, or was that starting to shift now?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Interesting you talk about your pleasure from motor racing. Was it the lure of success and the pleasure you got from winning or was it the pleasure of driving a car on the limit?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And then you, you qualified for that race in Sicily at Syracuse, uh, on the front row, alongside the works Maseratis.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] That's a big moment. Luigi Villarese and Luigi Musso lining up.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Yeah, Tony, it's an extraordinary story, but it started to a very important chapter in your life, that Syracuse Grand Prix, because you were racing


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] In Italy, a country that went on to play a very important part in your life, you married an Italian lady, and of course,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Not in time to converse with Enzo Ferrari.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And what was the mood like? Because Peter Collins had been killed the year before, Mike Hawthorne had retired. Just, can you just shed some light on what the atmosphere was like and, and, you know, was it not on its knees, but how desperate was the situation then?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Well, and you had some great teammates at Ferrari that year, didn't you? I'm thinking of Phil Hill. You mentioned Jean Barrow, but...


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] So your first Ferrari win in Formula One came at Reims.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Now another victory I'd love to talk to you about is Avus.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Average speed of more than 150 miles an hour, lots of slip streaming, I'm guessing. How tactical did you have to be in that race?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Now of course the rear engine, Cooper, you were in a front engine Ferrari Dino. Were you aware during that season of


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] The changing of the tide, that's where the engine needed to be behind you, not in front of you. Yes.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] But do you think the cream always rises? It's just perhaps the difference between the great and the good now is one tenth. Whereas in your day, it was maybe a second.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] We'll get back to Tony in a minute, but first take a listen to this.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] In the internet age, it's easy to feel like you have all the freedom in the world. The truth however, is that we've never been monitored more by governments, ISPs and ad companies.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] UK internet service providers have to keep records of your online activity for 12 months. And this includes all the websites you visit, apps you use, and your private conversations. But now you can protect your online privacy with ExpressVPN.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] ISPs can record your internet activity no matter where you are in the world. And as someone who travels a lot and often finds myself flitting between working from home or in cafes and hotels using public wifi,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I want to feel protected and so should you. And I'm not just talking to those of you listening in the UK. If you're based in the United States, then ISPs can even sell your data to advertising companies. So the best way for you to stop them accessing your data is to use a VPN.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Boom, you're protected. You can go about your business using the internet as normal, safe in the knowledge that your data is encrypted and your IP address is hidden. All thanks to ExpressVPN.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] So protect your online activity today and find out how you can get three months free at expressvpn.com forward slash grid.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] That's expressvpnexpressvpn.com forward slash grid for three months free with a one year package. Visit expressvpn.com forward slash grid to learn more. Now let's get back to Tony.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Coward driven by Jack Brabham won the title and it seems...


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] It all came undone for you at that final race at Sebring when you were hit by Wolfgang von Tripps. How much damage was there to your car?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] How frustrating is it for you to have not won the world championship?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] It's like your second most exciting, you finished third in the world championship. And you won.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] The German Grand Prix. Yes. But that year it was at the Nordschleife. Yes. Was that your greatest race? Because you passed both of them.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And do you think it was that performance that got you the ride with Ferrari in 59?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] What was the trigger point for Van Wall pulling out? Was it the death of Stuart Louis Evans in Casablanca?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Stuart's advisor at the time was one Bernie Ecclestone. Did you ever come into contact with Bernie?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] No, there's two names I wanted to ask you about. Uhm, you've mentioned Sterling, Sterling Moss on several occasions. Just how good?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Many times, five times was Fangio. You think he was the best driver you ever raced?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Great versatility, but what made, what stood him apart? What made him so good?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And what was your personal relationship like with Angio?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] You mentioned after you retired and you, you retired abruptly.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] At the end of 61 it seemed, you were only 29.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Good. Well, Tony, thank you very much for your time. It's been a pleasure. Absolute pleasure to talk to you about your career and how different it was back in the fifties. Thank you very much.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] That was great, wasn't it? Talking to Tony, you begin to understand what made him such a great racing driver in such a dangerous era. Cool and composed, and not a hint of pre-Madonna superstar for all his success. It was great hearing his recollections, particularly about what made Fangio such a class apart.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Well, that's it for this episode, but we'll be back next week with another big name from the world of F1. Until then, why not subscribe to Be On The Grid if you haven't already? We're on all of your favourite podcast apps, including Apple and Spotify. And please keep your feedback coming. We love it. Remember to use the hashtag F1BeOnTheGrid and you can tweet me at Tom ClarksonF1.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Beyond the Grid is produced by F1 in association with Audio Boom. Until next time, keep it flat out.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Hi everybody and welcome to a very special episode of Beyond the Grid. My name's Tom Clarkson and coming up in this week's show, we're celebrating Formula One's birthday. Because May the 13th, that's today if you're listening to the podcast on the day of release, is the 70th anniversary of Formula One's first ever race at Silverstone.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] That first Grand Prix, over 70 laps of course, was won by Giuseppe Farina for Alfa Romeo, and he would go on to win the inaugural 1950 World Championship.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Unfortunately, we're no longer able to talk to many of the great drivers, particularly from the earlier decades, but we can talk about their cars, and we have the perfect throttle jockey to guide us through these seven decades of Formula One cars. Martin Brundle.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Martin raced in 158 Grand Prix's across 12 years, taking 9 podiums along the way. And since retiring from Formula 1, he hasn't stopped driving. Anything but in fact.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] He's one of the few people on the planet to have driven cars, race-winning cars, from every decade in the sport's illustrious history. Many for his job on Sky Sports F1, and those who watch Sky F1 will know he's just as good at talking about cars as he is driving them.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And what it took to get the best out of them. So here you go. Brundle on the best cars he's driven from each decade. Expect Mercedes, McLarens, Ferraris and Lotuses, and perhaps a few surprises too. And to help you follow along at home, head to Formula1.com to see all of the cars Martin talks about on the show.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Now what a landmark moment this is. The 70th anniversary of Formula One.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] That's seven decades of inspiration and innovation. And as well as your 158 races that you did in Formula One and those nine podiums, you've also driven an incredible number of Formula One cars, haven't you? What's the total now?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And has the driver always wanted the same thing from a car? Did Juan Manuel Fangio want the same thing in the fifties that Lewis Hamilton wants today?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Let's start by looking at the 1950s. The Second World War is over, but it continues to cast a long shadow while Europe is reconstructed under the Marshall Plan. But entertainment is on the rise.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] This decade marks the arrival of Elvis Presley, Marilyn Monroe and Humphrey Bogart, and sport is once again de rigueur. In Formula One, the World Championship is born in 1950.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Italian teams dominate the early years, including Ferrari, who continue to be a leading light today.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And there's another similarity to today, the dominance of Mercedes. Martin, you started your career in touring cars, actually in the same team as Sir Stirling Moss. Let's begin by talking about the car in which Stirling won his first Grand Prix in 1955.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Fangio jumped ship from Maserati to Mercedes mid-1954, and then he went on later to say that the Mercedes W196 wasn't as nice to drive as the Maserati 250F, which is another car you've driven. Can you compare and contrast the two for us?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Now there's one more front engine car I'd love to ask you about and that's Mike Hawthorne's 1958 Ferrari Dino 246. The car in which he beat Stirling to the championship by one point. How was that? How did it compare to the Maserati?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] No pressure. Just one quick question about, uh, front engine cars in general. Do they require a different style to a rear engine car? Is it a lot more tail happy?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Let's go on to the 1960s, the swinging 60s when anything seems possible. Man walks on the moon for the first time. England win the World Cup.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] The Beatles are idolized on both sides of the Atlantic, and the first heart transplant takes place. In F1, it's the decade of unstoppable innovation. Engines go from front to back, and for some people, driving isn't enough.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Jack Brabham and Bruce McLaren build their own cars, as does Dan Gurney. And Martin, you've driven Gurney's Eagle Mk1 from 1966-67. A beautiful car.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] How much had the tech come on in the eight years between that car and the Ferrari Dino of Hawthorne?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Now perhaps the greatest pioneer of them all was Colin Chapman and his signature car, the Lotus 49. Well, you've driven the 49B from 1967, haven't you? That is the car.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Tell us a little bit about the engine in the back of that Lotus, the DFV, because it went on to last for 19 seasons in Formula One. And uhm, it's a lovely story because you've obviously driven that car, but the last Grand Prix that that DFV did was the Australian Grand Prix of 1985 in a car driven by your good self. How much did the engine improve over that time?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] As you said, these cars started to sprout wings, but it was really the last one before aero became a massive factor. And does a car without downforce require less skill to drive quickly than one with downforce?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] On to the 1970s. The oil crisis of 1973 takes its toll. Watergate brings down a US president. Video cassette recorders become commercially available. And the first mobile phone call is transmitted in 1973.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] In F1, aerodynamics start to take centre stage. Wings are primitive at first, but as the understanding of aerodynamics grows, lap times fall. And first up Martin, tell us about the BRM P160.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And of course, just for those people listening, that race that you keep referring to, Monza 71, closest finish in Formula One history with the top five covered by 0.6 of a second. But another guy who drove that car, Niki Lauda, in 1973, Niki's second full season of Formula One, is also a driver you raced against in Formula One. And I wanted to ask how big a gulf


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Is it between this car, one of Nicky's early cars, and then a car that he would have been racing against you in the mid 80s?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] One more car from the 70s, the Ferrari 312B3. Again, Niki Lauda's car. History of Niki Lauda's Formula One cars, but a special Ferrari, because what, they hadn't won the title since, what was it, 1964, and this was a car that started giving them hope again, wasn't it?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] The 1980s, the decade of excess. Thriller becomes the best-selling album of all time. Yuppies become a thing, and Britain Tim Berners-Lee discovers the world wide web.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] In F1, turbos dominate, producing upwards of 1500bhp in qualifying trim and using qualifying tyres. The cars are fiercely demanding to drive.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And the car that encapsulates the era best of all is the McLaren MP4-4 from 1988. I remember you driving the car in Brazil last year, Martin. Many of the people watching were crying.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] A couple of questions about it, in that Gordon Murray, who was the technical director at McLaren in 88, told me once that that MP4-4


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] It's just an evolution of the Brabham BT55 from 1986, which was a very low lying car. Yep. And one of the things Derek Warwick said he struggled with in that Brabham was he said he couldn't breathe because of the driving position. Can you relate to what Derek was saying having driven the car now?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] What a wonderful car. One final question about the 80s. Something you touched on actually at the top was the six wheeled Williams, the FW08B. I read that Frank Derny said it was going to be Williams' answer to not having a turbo engine, but what an extraordinary looking car. What are your memories of it?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] The 1990s are characterized by the rise in multiculturalism and international scandals. Remember the name Monica Lewinsky? The first Harry Potter story is published, and Titanic is the decade's highest-grossing film.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] In F1, normally aspirated engines are the norm. Ferrari come oh so close to a world driver's title with Alain Prost, while the deaths of Roland Ratzenberger and Ayrton Senna horrify the watching world. Martin, you raced a lot of cars in the 90s. Which was your favourite and why?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] It's one of the sort of paradoxes, isn't it? That it was quite as analog as it was because John Barnard actually laid out the 92 Benetton. And of course he was the guy that introduced semi-automatic gearboxes at Ferrari in 89 and yet he didn't include it on this


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] How much better was this car, the 92 Benetton, than the last car that you actually raced, the 96 Jordan? How had things come on in the intervening years?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] The 2000s are marked by the exponential growth of the internet and the global economy. Until that is, there is a financial crash in 2008.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Concorde flies its last commercial flight, and there's international condemnation when terrorists deliberately fly two planes into New York's World Trade Center. In F1, horizons are expanded with races in the Middle East and China for the first time. On track, the decade is dominated by Ferrari.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Michael Schumacher wins five titles with the team and Kimi Räikkönen won, and the Scuderia takes seven Constructors titles. Martin, where better to begin our look into the 2000s than with the car in which Schumacher delivered his first driver's title for the team, the Ferrari F1 2000.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And just a going slightly left field, but Ferrari is of course the only team that's been around since 1950. Your thoughts on their importance to Formula One, clearly important to Martin Brundle and racing drivers, but their importance to Formula One.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Okay, now I want to ask you the best race that you've ever commentated on.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I was so hoping you were gonna say that because I wanted to ask you about the MP423.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I'm really interested to hear you say that this car inspired so much confidence, because yes, Lewis wins the title, but his teammate, Heikki Kovalainen, didn't do anything outstanding in it. He got one pole position at Silverstone and then finished seventh in the standing.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I don't know what that tells you about the car or maybe it tells you more about how you kick over the line and I don't know.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Onto the 2010s when smartphones and tablets are the headline accessory. 4G is rolled out around the world and London becomes the first city to host the Olympic Games three times.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] In F1, Sebastian Vettel becomes the youngest ever world champion in 2010. Incremental gains are the buzzwords in design offices prior to the turbo hybrid era being introduced in 2014.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Martin, Red Bull dominated the early part of this decade, and you drove their second title winner, the RB7 from 2011. One of the most impressive aspects of this car was the exhaust blown diffuser, where the exhaust gases were directed in such a way to maximise downforce from the rear of the car.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] So it was like traction control really, without being traction control.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Well Martin, let's bring it. We've raced through six decades. Let's bring it up to the current now with a Lewis Hamilton championship Mercedes from 2015, the W06. Stunning car. What was it? 16 out of 19 wins.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] So Martin, when you look back at the seven decades and all the different cars that you've driven, when was the balance between car performance and driver input at its peak?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Okay. And final question from me, Martin. I think I know the answer to this, but the car that you most enjoy driving of the 54 that you've driven.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And I love your passion Martin, thank you so much for your time and what a trip down memory lane.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Really hope you enjoyed that as much as I did. Martin gave such great insight into each of the cars and decades. And remember, if you want to see each car, head over to F1.com to see a gallery of each one.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] There's so much to take away from that conversation. The graphic description of the gearbox on the Mercedes W196. The pedal confusion in the Maserati 250F. All the way through to the noise of the Renault Turbo on Senna's 1986 Lotus being warmed up.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Martin, thanks as ever for your time. It was a pleasure to catch up and do this.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Despite having to overcome so much adversity in his stint at Red Bull, I'm so pleased he's found his feet at AlphaTauri and I wish him all the best. Hear hear John, Danny is all of those things. And Navamonga got in touch to say this. Now I feel like I know the guy who did not care when he crashed into Seb all those years back.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] He owns everything in his life and on the track. He's someone with great mental strength and perseverance. Well, thanks for the note, Naya. Danny certainly got mental strength. Let's hope he has a competitive car to go with it once we get racing again. Now, remember, if you want to send us a comment, use the hashtag F1 Beyond the Grid.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Well that's it for this episode, I hope you enjoyed it and thanks for listening. Beyond the Grid is produced by F1 in association with Audio Boon. Until next time, stay safe and keep it flat out.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Kyle, it's TC here with another edition of Beyond the Grid presented by Bose QuietComfort 35 II wireless headphones. Now, we've got an absolute cracker of a guest for you this week. A man regarded quite rightly as one of the best drivers in the history of Formula 1.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] The outfit then made the jump to Formula 1 in 1997 as Stuart Grand Prix and went on to win one race. And would you believe it, I was actually shadowing Jackie for an article I was writing that famous weekend at the Nurburgring in 99.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] We caught up in his hotel room at the Mexican Grand Prix. Jackie had had a typically busy day at the track, but he was as articulate and as engaging as ever, even with the noisy day of the dead celebrations going full chat outside. I'd go so far as to say he was in top form. I hope you enjoy our conversation.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] So Jackie, great to see you again. Welcome to Beyond the Grid. We have just, well we haven't really fought our way through the Mexico City traffic because we've just come by helicopter. Certainly a good way to go.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And just for a moment I felt like a rockstar.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] There are so many chapters to your life that it's going to be quite difficult to sort of condense it down, but let's start by talking about your driving career. You're regarded as one of the greatest drivers of all time.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] But who was the toughest competitor you came up against?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Did you ever have any arguments as flatmates? Did you argue about how much milk was left in the fridge or was Jimmy just completely running?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] How interesting that he could be so indecisive outside the car yet such a mesmerising brilliant driver in.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Yeah. So if Jimmy was the best driver, who was like, who was the dirtiest driver?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Now what gave you the greatest driving pleasure? Can you name a track and a car?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Just to remind the listeners, you won that race by an extraordinary four minutes in the rain, the green hell.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Were you uptight because of a fear of failure or a fear of injury?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Well, it was another exciting weekend of F1 action in Mexico. The atmosphere was electric and Lewis Hamilton wrapped up.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] A historic fifth world title in spectacular style. However, the championship season is far from over. The next stop on our world tour is the Brazilian Grand Prix at Interlagos, so there's plenty of travel to be done between now and then. One thing I know


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Is that my Bose QuietComfort 35 II wireless headphones have become a cornerstone.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] of my travel kit. Bose are renowned for their world-class noise-cancelling technology, and the QC35 IIs more than live up to that standard. Whether on a plane or needing to block out the noise of that Mexican crowd last weekend so that I could focus on my job, they are now an integral part.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] of my Grand Prix weekend. No matter what you're doing, they can easily become an integral part of your daily routine as well, allowing you to quickly adjust the amount of noise cancelling to fit your needs.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And that's not all these headphones can do. The latest generation have been refined to provide direct access to both Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Which is great for me because all it takes is a couple of quick commands to access my schedule or my to-do list and to make sure that I'm not late for my next interview. The lightweight design and comfortable ear cushions make it even easier to slip off into your own little world and with up to 20 hours of battery life, time doesn't matter. It's noise off, focus on.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Go to Bose.com and take a look at the QuietComfort 35 II Wireless Headphones for yourself.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] So I understand the whole mind management thing and what it did for you at the start and things like that. But Jackie, in terms of just raw talent.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Where do you think your advantage lay? What was it? A feel? A feel for what?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] But if the data that we have today had been available in your time, where would your advantage have been do you think?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I understand that. I'm going to have one more go at this because I think particularly for the younger audience.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] They've all heard of Sir Jackie Stewart. They know your record. They know how many races you won, but what made you so special? Let's say, let's take qualifying.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Jackie, what I think is fascinating is that clearly something had to give. You were making yourself ill because you were working so hard. And it's interesting that the thing you were best at is the thing that you gave up.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] So did anyone in Formula One try and lure you back?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Well we'll come on to Stuart Grand Prix in a minute, but was there an element, excuse me, back in the early 70s where...


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Burnt out yes, but also just exhausted and frustrated at the deaths of all your friends. I think I've heard you in the past talk about, is it 52 funerals you went to in your


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Was there an arrogance in all of you that it was never gonna happen to you?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] But Jackie, you had accepted then that you could die in a racing car. Why was Formula One worth dying for?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] What changed in you then, between, let's take, we talked about Jochen Schunt in 1970, uhm, and just to put some flesh on the bones, you know, you live next to him in Switzerland, you've said already that his wife Nina and your wife Helen were best friends.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] WatkinsGlen73, your last race when Francois was killed on the Saturday and you didn't race on the Saturday.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I think it's fascinating though that that shift had happened when obviously you had carried on in the past, hadn't you?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I just returned from the Mexican Grand Prix where Movember was in full swing. There were extravagant moustaches everywhere you looked and there was even a barber in the paddock.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] But nothing they offered compared to my recent experience of shaving with a Harry's razor. I hadn't heard of Harry's until recently, but I thought I'd give them a go and my face hasn't looked back.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] The shave is smooth and I get none of the discomfort and irritation that has plagued me with other wet shaves. Even dare I say it, those barbers in the Mexican Grand Prix paddock


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And I've got some good news for you guys out there. Harry's have a special offer for Beyond The Grid listeners. They're offering a trial set of shaving equipment for just £3.95. For that you'll get their precision engineered 5 blade razor, which has a lubricating strip and a trimmer blade, and rich foaming shave gel as well.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] All you have to do is go to harrys.com forward slash F1 podcast to get everything you need for a close, comfortable shave. Go on, give it a go. Head to harrys.com forward slash F1 podcast and claim your trial set today.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] What has been your attitude to danger outside of being a racing driver? Danger.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Well look, can we just, before we move on from the 70s, let's just reflect on, uhm, I mean it's interesting here, you can actually, maybe people listening to this might be able to hear all the helicopters, we've got all the Day of the Dead celebrations going on, so there's a real carnival atmosphere here in Mexico City, but, but Jackie, the 70s, what was it like being, let's,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] There's one other thing I wanted to ask you about your clay pigeon shooting.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And that we've talked about how it helps your racing, the hand eye and mind management, that kind of thing. But uhm, when you look.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] At your sporting successes, I just want to ask you about


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I was nervous about asking you that, but it is interesting. So that does stand out. Oh, yes.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Well, I think there's lots of podcasts potentially with you, but I just wanted to now fast forward to Stuart Grand Prix. You've achieved so much as a driver. You've achieved so much as a businessman in the 20 years.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Between, um, retiring as a driver and sort of becoming a team owner first with Paul Stewart Racing. But, Stewart Grand Prix, why? Why did you need to do that?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I remember the Nürburgring 99 very clearly, because I was actually shadowing you that weekend, I seem to remember doing something. How big a kick did you get out of that win?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] But did you get as much satisfaction out of that win as any of your 27ers are driving? Can we say that Jackie Stewart has actually won 28 races?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Did you apply a lot of what you learnt from Ken Tyrrell as a team boss?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Now look, there will be actually, Jackie, a lot of people listening who are young, new to Formula One. And of course it's this weekend that Lewis Hamilton can become.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Final question from me. Who on the current grid is closest to Jackie Stewart?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] This podcast wasn't long enough. I could have listened to Jackie all day.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] He's a legend in the truest sense of the word, and as the sport's oldest living world champion, he provides a vital link to an era when the sport was very different and its popularity was growing exponentially. There was too much gold dust in that chapter pick, just one highlight.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] But I did particularly enjoy listening to him talking about sharing a flat with Jimmy Clark. A bygone era indeed. It was great to catch up Jackie, thanks for your time and I hope we get to do this again sometime in the near future.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Well, that's it for another week, but of course we'll be back in just seven sleeps from now, with another big name from the world of F1. In the meantime, if you haven't already, please subscribe to Beyond The Grid, where on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your favourite podcast app.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And please keep getting in touch. We love your feedback, especially when you tell us who you'd like to hear on the show. So come on, who is your dream guest? Let me know using the hashtag F1B on the grid and you can tweet me at Tom Clarkson F1.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Hi, I'm Joe Ramirez and you're listening to Beyond the Grid.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] The team that we have with McLaren, the Untouchables, I mean Senna and Ross, we won 15 out of 16 races. That's without a doubt the best era. But I'm lucky, I born where I born, therefore I have the 40, ehm, the 40 best years of the sport. The 60s, the 70s, the 80s and the 90s. I retired in 2001.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And then by then, you know, the money is overtaking the sport, the regulation, everything has changed so much that people with like Ayrton Senna looking up there and he's turning on his grave because the sport is a lot more different than when I started.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Let them praise, let them praise. I mean, we are in a circuit where everybody said it was difficult to overtake, but for Ayrton there was no circuit difficult to overtake, you know. It was the man that if you see a gap, he'd take it.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Anyway, then one year he got, uh, he then got into Formula 2, or I can't remember, and he got enough sponsorship that he,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And, uh, Ron said, so what are you doing? You don't have a turbo engine. No, yes, Ron, but we want to do this and that. I was playing hard to get, you know. Oh, come and see me. So I went to see him and I had a meeting with him and a meeting with John Barner.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Okay, I can just leave the car and I adapt to the car and change his driving to adapt to the car and at the end it end up to be maybe a little bit quicker.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Ayrton, you know, Ron tried very hard to get Ayrton.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Said anything to Ron, why do we get him, him or get somebody else or you know, you know, if he's supposedly to be the best.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] The cars were two drops of water, really. Completely the same.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] We're working on different flags, but we're still friends. And uh, oh, he said, could you get me a helicopter to take me to Fort Lee, where I had my, where he normally put his plane.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And I remember standing up on the door of the truck and the car was there in an uphill on the gravel. And he said, I think that, uh, give it a little more toe in on the right front. You should. And yeah, look at it doesn't look me. So I gave it, you have to, and then he.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] To prove it was right. And he said, I'll put it back how it was before, because it's easier to drive or whatever. And I also like that he was the first one to introduce the Gurney Flap.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Because that was, he did it in Le Mans the first time. And then...


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Which is the last race that Ayrton won with McLaren. It was an exceptional weekend. I think I thoroughly enjoyed it.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] He was wanting me to do his bells, but normally he did it himself. He did the last pull on the bell. He just wanted to talk to me without doing it on the radio for everybody to listen, you know.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Perfection is, you know, I said to Toto, Toto said, oh, come on, don't say, you, you don't the same. I said, no, no, we don't it just for a few years, but you just doing it too long and too much. Sometimes you still have the first, uh, the two.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I don't care how much I have to pay because I have to pay, I have to see them, there's no way, but I can see that many people, they're going out of the sport because it's too expensive and because it's been boring, but we have shown this year that it's not boring enough.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] No, but I'm kind of, uh, uh, overwhelmed that you have choose me among all those top people that you have made the program. Pleasure to speak to you.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Hi, I'm Checo Perez and you are listening to Beyond The Grid.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Thanks, happy, happy to spend a good hour with you.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Yes, because I remember watching Formula 1, uh, at the time with my dad, you know, and Formula 1 was just too big.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And impossible for a Mexican to be here, you know, and I was very good in karting and I say in the car, it's like the common thing for, for the Mexican drivers. We have like five at the time, five Indy car drivers or so. So I say Indy car is quite reachable.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] It's not easy to get through, but I want to go to Formula One, but I always knew that it's like the impossible dream, you know, because uhm...


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] We didn't have any money, we didn't have any sponsors, so it was like, yeah, how the fuck are we going to get into Formula One? It looks nice on TV, you know, watching the race in Mexico, the race in Japan, the race in China, but we never thought we were going to achieve that.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] You're right. It was so, so difficult and such a unique place. I never grew up seeing a Formula One driver on the grid, you know. I always thought that this is for European drivers, for other, other drivers, but not a Mexican.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Well, unless my dad took me, which I wouldn't be surprised, but no, I don't have any pictures of me being in the Mexican Grand Prix.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] It was in 2002, uhm, there was a competitor card competition from, uh, Montoya.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] That the winner was going to get the two tickets for the Indianapolis race.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And I won the race, so I got the two tickets, and my dad thought I was going to take him, and I took my brother with me. And so we went, my brother and me, to see the Indianapolis race, and that was my first ever race in watching Formula One.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Yes, I actually went to the, to, to see the car, to see a bit of the technology. We went, I mean, we were, we were on the grandstand, but they took, took us, me and my brother to the paddock for like, I don't know, 10, 15 minutes. And it was amazing. It was an amazing experience.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] No, to be honest, he was quite chilled out and he just explained us briefly the will and I had to go to do some meetings so it was quite briefly. But I knew.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Uh, at that age I was like 13 or, it was just my time, before my time I started in Skip Barber. So I knew that if I wanted to do something, I had to go to Europe at a very young age.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And that's when, when I decided to, I was determined to go since a very young age, but now the difficult bit came, which was to find the money to go to Europe.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] So basically, going back to it, in karting, while I was in karting, uhm,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I had a special permit, special license because I was 12, 11 years old and I was racing in Shifter 125s. So I had a special license to race those cars. So I was like 12 and racing guys of 20, 25 years old and beating them.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Before the IndyCar came to Mexico, we were going to be the pre-race in karting, so it was quite a big thing for me. And I got my license taken away from me, because I had a crash with another driver.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And it was a bit political and so on. So I got my license taken away from me, so they didn't let me race.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] It was such a big thing that he went on the news and so on. And I remember coming back from school.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] My dad told me, you know, Carlos Slim called me and he wants to know what happened and he wants to give you the opportunity because I was so pissed off because I was going to lose the championship.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And the winner of that championship was going to get the Scuderia Telmix membership, you know, so you were going to become a member of Scuderia Telmix. Which is funded by Carlos Slim. Which is funded by Carlos Slim.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] So missing that race meant that I was leading the championship, working so hard.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And then all of a sudden they took my license away, and I was not going to win the championship, so if Esqueria Telmex didn't take me, there was no chance I was going to leave Mexico, you know? So I say, you know, that...


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I had enough, uh, let's, let's just sell everything and Carlos


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Found out, so I remember on Monday after the race coming, coming back from school and, and my dad told me, eh, Carlos Slim called me and he wants to give you the ride.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I said yeaah. I didn't believe my dad. I said, you know, just tell him thanks.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Yeah, definitely. But not just him, because on Monday I told my dad, just tell two Carlos things, because I thought like it was the whole story again about just trying me to get back.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] It was, it wasn't, you know, because I know Karlo since I'm six years old, you know, my dad was close to him and... Does that have been...


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] No, because of my brother, my father always worked in motorsport and Carlos has been always involved, so for one reason or another I always knew Carlos. So Carlos for me was like, uh, uh,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And so on Monday I told my dad, you know, just say thanks to him. And on Tuesday, Jimmy Morales, the director of Scoria Telmex, called my dad and said, we want Checo. Doesn't matter if he doesn't win the championship, he's going to get the


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] The, the test in the skip barber and I got the test. I was quicker than the champion and, and then everything started back then. I was 14 years and I remember when everything started, I was.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] We have to go to Europe, we have to go to Europe, and Carlos was telling me we don't have any money, you know, to go to Europe, so we have to first start in the US, get some experience there, and then...


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And then see, obviously he wanted to see if I was good enough before he spent any, any more money, you know, so.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Yeah, him and Jimmy always had a lot of trust on me, a lot of commitment. They guide me through everything more than, they were more like my father, you know, they guide me on the personal side and on the driving side a lot.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] They didn't have such a good year, but I had good races and they talked a lot about me at that time, so...


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Carlos wanted me to stay in the U.S.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] But I say I have to go to Europe. I was so convinced that I had to, I was obsessed by going to Europe. You know, I never had the opportunity to race in Europe, not even in karting. So I was obsessed with living Mexico to go to Europe, you know.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And I remember before going to school, because of the time difference, I had to wake up like at 2 o'clock in the morning, 3 o'clock in the morning.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Because I have a schedule, the phone calls with the European teams. You know, so I remember calling them at 2 or 3 in the morning from my home, saying to give me cheap deals.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Uh, cheap deals. My English was not good back then. Well, it's still not good, but back then I had like, I just need cheap deals. I was telling all the, this is too expensive. Give me cheap deals, cheap deals. So in the end, I ended up finding the cheapest deal in the, in the whole BMW.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Yeah, right. That's why I went to Germany, uh, to, to first to start in


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] In, in that team, and I remember, so basically we just had the budget. It was like, like 150,000 euros to, to do that year. And that's it. We, that's the only thing we had. But now was the difficult bit came when I had to find.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] The ticket flight, eh, how to live in Europe and so that was very interesting because I went, my dad had a, had a ticket that I had to fly from Toluca. I live in Guadalajara.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Where is Toluca? Eh, Toluca is next to Mexico City. So it's a six hour drive. So we drove to Toluca.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] At his house, you know, in the, uh, on the ground floor, he had a little garage and that was our, our team, team factory. So we had nothing. I was living in and then he had a restaurant. He was building a restaurant. So I say, well.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I can live there. So he put me to live in the restaurant, which was a great thing because at least I could interact with people, you know, because yeah, because yeah, exactly. Because when he drove me in the hotel, it was not even a hotel. It was a motel, you know, where, where all the,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] This is not what I thought it was going to be, you know? This is not as nice, because I thought I was going to be racing with Formula 1 as priest LR, but...


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And so and so I thought, well, this is not as nice as I thought it was going to be. It's really hard spending my, my, the whole day on my own.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Eh, not seeing anyone, my friends all having normal life. Because I went from having a normal life, going to school with friends, going, having a normal 14, 15 year old life to a...


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I love to be on my own. My lonely time is, I appreciate it a lot. I have very few friends, not many good friends, but I like to be surrounded by my family, good friends, my wife, now my kids, so...


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Yeah, I like to spend a lot of time with them. I think I've been so used to be on my own.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I'm a bit older than you. It's not that bad. I didn't have any communication. I mean, I spoke with my family every two days or something like that, you know? So there was a time where I remember just me thinking, where do I am going? You know, what's going on with my life? What do I want? It was like all the adrenaline gone.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And now is the time to reflect. What, what do I want to achieve? Where, where I'm going? And I, I remember telling myself, well,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] You can take a ticket back and go home, but you might regret it for the rest of your life because you didn't fight for your dream.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And I said, you know, fuck this, I'm going to give it all to, and I'm not going back to Mexico until I'm a world champion. So since then I went straight into it and just worked my way through. Nobody has given me anything.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] But I'm not running around telling my sad story to everyone to be the victim here because everyone has fought so hard to be here and I'm one of those guys.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Yeaah, with Honda. I went to meet Ross Brown. I was leading the British F3 Championship and I went to meet Ross Brown to his office and I was going to get a test with Honda. And that was, uh, Adrian Fernandez put me in contact with them. And I went to do my seat, everything.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And the test was in December, I think in Jerez, December 15th and December 10th. I'm in Dubai racing in GP2 and then going back to do the test in Europe. And then I'm watching the news and I see that the Honda team has shut down.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And that was my first contact with the Formula One team. That was December 2008. Yeah. So there was no, no test. The test was cancelled and it was very, very sad moment, you know, because I've worked so many years for it. And then.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] It closes, but I say, you know, it's okay. I'm closer than I was a couple of years ago. So I was there in GP2.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I was winning the championship and in the end I finished second in GP2. I won a lot of races and we were trying to find a ride in Formula 1. Carlos worked really hard to get a good seat with Sauber.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Yeah, at that time was the only one. Because the connection with Ferrari, I was a member of the Ferrari Academy. And so we went to, Ferrari gave the engine to Sauber. And it's how we went, we got through Formula One.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] When you are driving, you're not thinking or you, you never think that you, I mean, you've seen, I've seen with Jules, for example, was a very sad moment, but you always think that those things will not happen to you. And.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And it's how I still think now, but I have a lot of respect for what I do.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] It takes a lot, you know, to wake up every morning and know that you're jumping in that car.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] But you might not go, go back home, you know, because, uh, you are risking, uh, everything, every single lap, you know, we do such speeds, although the, um, safety gas has come a long way, uh, anything can happen.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Uh, of the danger that we, we go through every, every weekend. Luckily, she, the time that I've been with her, she hasn't seen a huge accident. So, yeah, she knows that her husband has a dangerous job.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Yeah, I mean, the first time I drove it was in Abu Dhabi after my GP2 season concluded. I was, yeah, shocked, you know, driving the Formula One car, how quick it was. I remember my neck was soaring a lot, actually.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Yeah, everything was worth it, but I knew that reaching Formula 1 was one thing.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] But having a long and success career in Formula One is another thing, you know, and I knew that it was just the first step because there are so many drivers that they've spent one or two years in Formula One and we will never see them again, you know, and I knew that, yeah, I've come a long way.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] But now is the time to, to go and kick some ass, you know, because I had to.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] To get my place in Formula 1. Everyone, uh, said that I was a paid driver and whatsoever, but the truth is that...


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Yeaah, I think it di- it didn't work out because basically mclaren was-


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Uhm, I'm in quite a bad shape. I was partnering with Jensen, a world champion, a very established guy in his team, so I was coming to his team.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] It didn't work out basically because we didn't have any performance in the car. We were, I think, the sixth fastest team that year, so we didn't even make it into the podium. It was a very difficult and inconsistent car, so with the level of experience that I had, it was very difficult to get the most out of that car. But still,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I out-qualified Jenson on my first year, and I came close to him in terms of points, but it wasn't enough, you know, because there were a lot of difficulties there.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Politically, I think there were too many issues with Ron, Martin. It was just a very tough time. And I think probably, given how McLaren was at that time,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] That riot came just at the wrong moment for me because uhm...


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] If you go back to 2012, I was a Ferrari member. I was going to get a contract for 2014. I had to stay one, one more year with, with Sauber and then get the ride with Ferrari.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] No, no, no, I, I was, I went to Maranello and, and discussed that with, with Domenicali. He told me, let's do a pre-contract for 2014.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And I was obviously back then quite young and hungry and, and, and desperate to get my, my right. And I said I want to get it for 2013. I won. Uh, I was obviously at that time, uh,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Mercedes was interested, Ferrari was, and McLaren, so I was in a really strong position back then, and I thought to myself, you know, I need to get into a competitive car because I can win the title.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] So the opportunity with McLaren came, and McLaren was winning races, was fighting for titles for the last five years.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] How can you say no, you know, it was quite an obvious thing and I had to say basically goodbye to, to Ferrari Academy and I went to McLaren. And I think the mistake there was to sign a one year deal. And I think,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] My management, uh, at the time didn't do, uh, didn't do a solid job with the, with the contract. And that was a, a sad thing that I think that that has damaged a bit my reputation in Formula One. But then I, I came to a fantastic team and I have a good success with the, with the team.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I think, obviously right now I have a lot more experience, you know, and the issues that happened that year, uh, I mean, I look back at them and I would solve them so differently in terms of dealing with the car setups, dealing with the races, with whatsoever, you know.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Obviously this is not the time I was back then. So everything happens for a reason. And if that year at McLaren didn't happen, I wouldn't be the person I am now. So I wouldn't change anything, you know, because there's pointless to think that you can change the past. And I hardly believe that everything happens for a reason.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Obviously, I was replacing Hamilton at McLaren, so uhm, everyone was expecting me to go on and win the title.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] But I didn't have the car, I didn't have the tools, so for me to adapt to the car was really hard, you know. We had such an inconsistent car and always changing race to race. We were bringing parts every race weekend, so we were doing so much air work on the Friday, so never had the chance to adapt myself to a car, you know.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I mean, you see these days, drivers changing teams is hard, you know, so you need time to adapt yourself.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I think my surround, the people around me was not the ideal environment for me to feel comfortable as I am now, to feel confident and so on. But as I say, if I didn't have the McLaren in here, maybe I wouldn't be who I am today.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] No, no, no, I thought, obviously, I went from, from being the next world champion to be, to be the, the next driver out of Formula One. And, so I thought, well.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] If this is what to happen, what can you do? Let's, let's get on with it. When I got the phone call from Martin that he was not going to renew my contract, eh, really late in the year, I was like, oh, this is going to hurt.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Five minutes later, I was okay with it. I thought, well, this might be my last races. I am not going to go to any team.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Just for the sake of staying in Formula 1 and be here, you know, I'm not the type of guy that likes to be in the picture and say, oh well, I'm a Formula 1 driver. No, I want to win and I'm here for a reason. So I say to myself, look,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] If this is to be the end, that's it, you know, I mean, everything happens for a reason, move on. There are a lot of other series or a lot of other things that you can do in life. So get on with it. And yeah, the ride with Force India came, but it was a difficult deal, you know, because it had to be.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Carlos was involved with, with my deal with VJ. So I say Force India, yeaah, it's a fantastic team that I would like to go. But I remember at the time, uh, KT Ham was the other option, I said.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I'm not going, I'm not going. Because I needed motivation. And although coming to Force India was a step back,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] There was a team very hungry for success and really growing, so I took that opportunity. But I was also very lucky to find it.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] That I didn't, I didn't behave well enough for the amount of pressure I had or whatsoever. It was a big shock, you know, because we went from being the next world champions to being the next driver out of Formula 1, so it's a big shock.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] For me and for him, I think, I think also him lost a lot of faith, a lot of enthusiasm.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And, and momentum in my career. So it was hard to digest, but before, before we know, uh, we had the deal with, with Force India and he always supported me and, and the deal with Force India basically came thanks to him.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Basically, so when I remember the first day I ever went to the...


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I was like, oh, that's one year and then let's go back to Mexico and do something else. So I lost all my, all my...


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] How you say, my passion, you know, I was really knocked down by, by McLaren. McLaren really, the McLaren thing really knocked me down in, in my career, big thing.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] But then, I remember starting the year with forcing the other work, and on my third race, I'm on the podium.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] It was like, okay, this is what I want, this is what I have to work hard on. Since then, it's been an incredible journey together.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] That first year with the team, I was really demotivated. But then 2015-16, I think we did great things and we're always there, you know, we are always the one. There is no coincidence in Formula One. There is a reason why we are always


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] They called Hulk, Hulkenberg was ahead of me, so they called him to the box and I was in the, the next guy to come. And in the, going into the final corners, my engineer just told me, you decide what you want to do if you want, because he was really late to have a conversation.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Got stuck behind, uh, Felipe on, on, on, on the rain. So I said, I better stay out. And I took that decision due to me watching the TV. So I stayed out, uh, I think two or three laps and then I overtook them and went to the podium. So, and also in Baku, for example, when,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] We had the graining that day, the re-graining. Which Baku were you talking about? 2016, my first podium in Baku. We had the graining, I was like P5 or 4.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] But Lewis was coming, and I went through the training phase and he was cleaning up.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] So I knew it was going to clean up, but those graining laps are like two, two and a half seconds slower. So I had like three laps of those where the team called me to box, but I said, no, it's going to clean up. So I better stay out. So I stayed out the day and thanks to that, we also got the podium, you know, so.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I know my weaknesses, I know my strengths and definitely my strength is on Sundays. I think reading the race, knowing what's going on, knowing when to push.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I mean, the points and the podiums come on Sunday, and you have to be perfect. Given the cars that we've had, I mean, I compare myself, for example, to Hulkenberg, which we've had very similar cars throughout our careers, you know?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] So to be on the podium just one time with our cars, you have to be perfect.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] One thousand percent, you know, there is no room for a single error, for a single mistake, eh, you have to...


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] To achieve that amount of podiums with the cars that I've had. Hold your head up. I have to, yes.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] So basically it was, it was a very difficult time.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] No, it was probably since the beginning of the season. Right. So basically...


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] It was me and Alan Protestant. He has a long story. Montoya actually as well. On what we were going to do, what we had to do. So the whole process was, was in contact for the benefit of the team. We knew that the team had a lot of creditors. So people that, uh,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] We're not going anywhere. We're not going anywhere and we are risking more than 400 jobs to basically complete the season. So we decide that it was the best thing to do for the benefit of the team.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] No, there were other, other creditors that could have done that. But uhm, obviously... Why you? Because there is not a lot of people that will want to have that reputation, you know. Or have that...


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I don't know, that difficult, difficult decision was a very hard decision for me at the time, you know, because uhm,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Basically, I'm not an expert in, in, in laws. So going into, into the administration process was a big thing. And then I think together with Otmar, Otmar did a fantastic job.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Uhm, Andy Stevenson to keep everyone together. There was so much uncertainty. I remember speaking with all the team members, all my mechanics because


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] It went onto the media as if I wanted to shut down and I just wanted to get my money because the team owed me some salary from the previous year and I had nothing to do with that. All I care was to save their jobs and I'm very happy and also the future is looking tremendously bright for them.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] They all stay. It's, it's amazing. It's an incredible story. In Formula One, there is no loyalty. There is, there is a racing point. There is a racing point. I tell you, you know, uh, for me, that's why it was so important to stay and it's so important this project because, uh, I've been too long in Formula One and, and, but this project really gets me up out of bed and really


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I'm thinking, well, we can go to the next step, we can go, but it just takes time, you know, and, and I know the people, they've been so loyal. When there was uncertainty that we were not going to finish the season, people didn't look for other jobs. They wanted to stay here and I think this team is very, very special.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] A boss and a teammate. You can't get away from them. No, I mean, so far I have to say that it's been really, really good atmosphere in the team.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] He's very enthusiastic, he's probably the most motivated person we have in the garage, eh, right now, you know, he's, he's really, he says, you know, that it's a project that has motivated him the most in the, in his, in his whole life, you know, it's a project that


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Get him up at 6 in the morning and he's flat out trying to go through everything.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And he's pushing the team very, very hard, but at the same time,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Letting, ehm, the Otmar, big boys to, to do their job, you know, but we are all aware that we have to.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] To give the results sooner rather than later. In that respect, I think he loves racing. I'm surprised with his energy, you know how much.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] He obviously wants his son to be very, very successful, which is in my benefit as well because he is definitely putting all the resources in place.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And with Lance, I mean Lance is just a normal guy, ehm, normal driver. He works very hard, he's also very talented and I have a very good relationship.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] With him, you know, we just, ehm, we work well together and we're trying to push the team forwards together, so.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I think we, we are all in the same boat and we all want to be successful here.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] No, I mean, I feel so much part of this team, of this family. We are all in the same boat, you know. We want to bring the team forward. We are not where we want to be at the moment. It's about bringing the team, the team forwards.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Yes, because in the past, there always been, like, single years, uh, contract, and always, like, uh,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] For example, 2015, I was close to leave 16, I was close to leave 17. Always, I've been really close to leave, but right now, this is the project where


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] What I want to be part of, you know, is where I want to grow together and go to the next step. In the past, there were always doubts of if we were going to make it till the end of the season, if we were going to get the upgrades and so on. But now it's just a matter of how we're going to get into the top three teams.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Yeaah, definitely. I'm also very realistic, you know, with, with my, with where is my career at the moment. I know that I'm not going- How do you sum that up? I know that I'm not going to, to Mercedes and Ferrari in a new term.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Well, before I, I, there was always a shot, especially with Ferrari. I was close in, in a couple of occasions to, to go there. So I know in Formula One to be a world champion, you have to be in those two teams. So if you are not in those two teams,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Uh, Racing Point is a fantastic project for me. A project that I've been with in the last six years and, and a project that if it works out,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Can be tremendous and can give me the opportunity to be where I want, which is regularly fighting for podiums.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] To be honest, I'm happy, you know. I'm happy with my job I have. I'm just a bit, on Sundays I tend to be very frustrated, you know, because I know


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] With the right equipment that can be up there, you know, but when you don't have that equipment and you don't have that facility with your car, everything is really hard, but I'm patient at the moment and...


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I'm very motivated and I want to take, to be part of, of, of this project. I might not be, you know, maybe the team at the end decides that I'm not the right person to be here for the future and it's fair enough, you know, I wouldn't regret anything, but right now I have to say that I'm very, very motivated with this project.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Uhm, I remember 2016 when we had a similar start of the season.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] We were on the podium in Monaco, we were on the podium on Baku, and we finished fourth in the Constructors. So Formula One seasons are very long, so it's too early to make any assumptions. We certainly, we are not where we want to be, so I hope sooner rather than later we can be where we want to.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Yeah, no, the thing is not that I admire or I will encourage young people to be, to be like him, you know, the thing that I'm more surprised from him, uh, of how was his life?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] His work life, and how was his, like when you watch his series, he's just like, a normal dad, you know, which I find impressive to have two personalities.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] When we work and work with personal life, it's something that shocks me a bit, but I wouldn't encourage anyone, anyone in the world to be like he was.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] You know, I always when, when something happened nice to me that I want to remember for the rest of my life, I bought, I buy a watch. I don't buy a watch for buying it. You know, I always buy it for a reason. For example.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I have, for example, my first ever salary. I bought a watch, which was in BMW actually. When I got a bonus, I bought a watch. When my first ever salary in Formula One, I bought a watch. My first podium in Formula One, I have my first baby.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I got a watch and I got my second one coming so I need to get another watch.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] No, yeah, kind of, kind of. But I, when I look at the watch, it means a lot to me, you know, because I know that it's for a reason and it's nice to remember that moment.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] For the non so important, for example, I very rarely will be late for an engineer meeting.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] You will always hear my name. Sergio Perez, please.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I, I probably missed it because I arrived late to the airport or something. But not because I'm in the airport and I'm the last guy to...


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Once you check your luggage, for them it's more difficult to look for your luggage than to wait for you, so they'll never drop your bag. Unless you are very, very late.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Well, what happened, you see, is uhm, it was the first race back with, with Jaguar, uhm, at Nürburgring. Uhm, a lot of pressure, we were in the lecture hour 14, uhm, teammate David Brabham. I went out to qualify the car, put it on pole.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Uhm, Schumacher went out with a Mercedes, beat me. I went back out, beat him again. He went back out, beat me. So I'm now back out for my last run on, on qualifying tires. I see him coming and I'm not sure whether he's on a quick lap or not. Uhm, but I put myself in the,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Hello everyone, it's TC here with another episode of Beyond the Grid, presented by Bose QuietComfort 35 II wireless headphones. Now we've had an eclectic mix of drivers on this show over the last few months. We've had world champions, race winners and young chargers, all of them with great stories to tell.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Well joining me this week is a driver who's in the latter camp as it stands, but he's one whom many believe is destined for great things. At the moment, he's still in his first season of F1 with Sauber,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] But he's showing all the signs of being very special indeed. So good in fact that Ferrari have signed him to partner Sebastian Vettel in 2019 in place of no lesser driver than Kimi Raikkonen. I'm talking of course about Charles Leclerc.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] The young man from Monaco dominated the junior categories of the sport, overcoming personal tragedy along the way.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And he's done some sensational things behind the wheel of Sauber's C37 this season. He's also engaging, amusing, and has crammed a lot into his 21 years. I really enjoyed catching up with him recently while he was on a whirlwind trip to Sauber's impressive factory at Hinville.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] So come on, let's get to know Ferrari's 2019 driver a little better.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Or shall welcome to Beyond the Grid. Everything's looking pretty rosy, I would say for you right now, and I'm not talking about this meeting room at Sauber HQ in Hinville.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] What would the little boy growing up in Monaco, did he genuinely believe this was a realistic goal for you? Or was it always just a dream and that you actually thought you were going to end up being an accountant or whatever else?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Growing up in Monaco, the Monaco Grand Prix, you were seeing F1 drivers around town the whole time. So was it, is that what sort of began your interest in, in racing?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] So you didn't grow up, uh, watching, I'm trying, you were born in 1997, weren't you? So...


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] But just that plan B you mentioned earlier, until you got to GP3. What else?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Were you good at, you say at school you were interested in sort of engineering type stuff, were you, are you good at any other sports?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] So you started karting at the age of three and a half and you didn't really bump into F1 drivers around town. So then the passion for racing and it's really.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] So evident just talking to you, it's sort of contagious, this passion you have for it. Where did it come from? Was it your dad? My dad was a racing driver.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And was dad the kind of guy that would stand by a corner and say break a bit later, turn in a bit earlier? Was he giving you that kind of advice?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Some people listening to this may not be aware that you, you lost your dad midway through last year. What do you miss most about him?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] How did you have the mental capacity to deal with everything?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Are you able to just compartmentalize everything? Does that help you in your everyday life as a Formula One driver generally, or was it just something you were able to do that weekend?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] If you combine the deaths of your father and Anjoul Bianchi.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Uhm, you're one tough cookie. I don't think mental, mental toughness is an issue if you don't mind. But, uh, so this is Doctor, uh, Ceccarelli, isn't it? Down, did you say Formula Medicine, Ceccarelli? Yeah, Formula Medicine, yeah. Uh, Riccardo Ceccarelli, I, I, I know Riccardo.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Getting upset if, if someone overtakes you or is it sort of more fundamental than that? Was it more fundamental than that?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Has Nicholas Todd, your manager, has he helped you in that respect as well, or is it?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Is it true that Jules was your godfather? Yes it is.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Oh, just in terms of what racing advice, how to set up the go-kart, how to, that kind of advice or?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Did his accident at Suzuka in 2014 change your attitude to racing in any way?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And he just said, everything slows down. You don't sort of see your whole life before your eyes, but just, it feels, although everything happened in half a second, it feels seconds, but I don't know.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] We're approaching the end of a hugely exciting Formula One season. It's been a long one.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] But there are still some iconic races coming up in different corners of the world. And to help stay focused, I and many others in F1 rely on Bose QuietComfort 35 II headphones. The world-class noise-cancelling technology that Bose is renowned for allows people on the road to lose themselves in their music,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Podcasts such as this, Dear Listener, or phone calls, no matter where you are in the world.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And the latest generation of these wireless headphones is now even better, with direct access to both Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant for simple voice control on the go. And what's really great about these headphones though,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Is that they're engineered to survive a life on the go. And life in F1 is a life on the go. Planes, trains, hotels and cars are a constant in this global sport.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] With up to 20 hours of battery life, you can take them wherever you want and you can listen all day. So they have to be comfortable and with a premium headband and plush ear cushions, it doesn't even feel like you're wearing headphones. So if you're looking for the ideal gift this coming holiday season, either for yourself, family or a friend,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Focus on. Visit Bose.com for more information.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] This amazing junior career saw you hugely successful in karting.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Then, uh, Formula Renault, uh, am I right in thinking that Fortech was your only British team in your career? Richard Dutton? Yes, it was. It was. I mean, do the Brits do anything different to the other teams on the, in central Europe or?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] So then, Formula 3 came and went. Second at Macau. Yes. Amazing race track. You're sounding like Kimi Riken.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Was that a conscious decision or just what the opportunities just opened up every time in the next category?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Is it the performance that's the biggest difference or is it all the systems around the car that is the biggest difference? Everything.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And how important for you is the media? How draining do you find? I hope you're not finding this too exhausting, but I've had a very long day, so I'm already exhausted.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] So is it, it's fame or is it to be admired for what you're doing? Cause I think they're two slightly different things. Cause I think.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Has the reach of Formula One surprised you? Have you been to some obscure parts of the world where you thought, well no one will recognise me here and then suddenly someone comes up and goes, that's Charles Leclerc.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Oh, so it was the arrival of a street track that you made you sort of change the setup a little bit to more understeer. Okay, and Melbourne isn't considered a street track in the minds of drivers and engineers.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Now, rivals, every year of your career you've had new rivals, new formulas, how much do you


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Research your rivals in terms of who they are, what they are, how they drive. Do you look at qualifying laps of Lewis Hamilton to see if there's anything that you can learn from them? What kind of homework, we go back to school, what kind of homework does a racing driver do? None.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Do you look at Marcus Ericsson's telemetry and go, what's he doing that I'm not doing? Or do you not even look at that and just focus on yourself as well?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I think Seb works really hard. A couple of times I've been very late leaving the paddock for whatever reason. Probably not work. But, uh, I've bumped into him a few times. I mean, properly late at night. Sort of 11, 12 o'clock sometimes.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] So we're coming towards the end of year one for you. How will you reflect on Sauber and what they did for you and the things you've learnt?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Will you miss working with Fred because Fred Vasseur, team principal, should probably clarify that. Will you miss Fred because you've done a lot with him.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I mean, you touched on it at the start of the podcast. Obviously the Ferrari thing's coming and you're just radiating confidence and happiness. But when did...


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] When did you think it was a possibility, the Ferrari thing for 2019? When did it, was it around Baku time, funnily enough, when you put that sixth place in, in race four? I'm sure that's when I first heard, ooh, Le Collector Ferrari.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Nervosity, uh. Do you, do you feel ready?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I mean even the likes of Senna and Schumacher didn't go straight in.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] To championship, potential championship winning situation.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Do you do that? Or is that, do we go back to Cecharelli and Formula Medicine?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] It's a very mature attitude, but do you feel in your mind you have to beat Vettel?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Is there anything like that in your contract that's going to prevent you taking the fight to battle?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Shal, I've got a bit of advice for you that Mark Webber gave us on this podcast a few weeks back. He said that when he was team mate to Seb.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Thank you. That's according to my mother. But look, final thing then, uhm, thank you for your time. It's been such an enlightening chat, but what would it mean


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] To you, Charlotte Clark, to stand on the top step of the podium wearing red.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Yeah, exactly. Yeah, exactly. Cool. Well, best of luck with that. Thank you very much for your time. Thank you. Great chat.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] There's a quiet confidence to Charles, isn't there? An assurance that everything's gonna be okay. You can't ever imagine things getting on top of him, which bodes well, given his impending move to F1's most historic team. It'll be fascinating to see how he gets on alongside Vettel at Ferrari next season.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I also loved some of the anecdotes about the early years and growing up in Monaco and who would have thought his mum used to cut David Coulthard's hair. What a claim to fame. Great chatting to you Charles and thanks for your time.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Well that's it for now, but of course we'll be back next week with another F1 superstar. In the meantime, if you haven't already, please subscribe to Beyond the Grid. We're on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your favourite podcast app.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] So what are you waiting for? Get in touch using the hashtag F1 Beyond the Grid and you can tweet me at Tom Clarkson F1.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Beyond the Grid is produced by F1 in association with Audioboom. Until next time, keep it flat out.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Hi everyone and welcome once again to Beyond the Grid with me, Tom Clarks. Now!


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] If I were to ask you to name the American racing driver with the most F1 starts, who would you say? Mario Andretti? Perhaps Dan Gurney? Actually, it's neither of them.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] That accolade goes to Eddie Cheever, who's my guest this week. Between 1978 and 89, Eddie race in 132 Grand Prix for the likes of Ligier, Tyrrell, Renault, Alfa Romeo, Haas, not that one.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Here's a bit of background that will help you to appreciate Eddie's journey. Yes, he's American, born in Phoenix, the former home of the US Grand Prix. But he grew up and went to school in Rome.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] His parents weren't racers, but he had Italian mates, and through them developed a love for, yes, you guessed it, Ferrari. And Ferrari quickly fell in love with Eddie, after he dominated the European karting scene and had a hugely successful career in the junior formulas of single-seater racing.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] He signed a Ferrari Formula One testing contract at the age of just 19.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I'm gonna let Eddie grab the mic now to tell his own story. And what you're about to hear will tweet every emotion you have. You'll experience undiluted joy, lots of frustration, and the desperate sadness that follows the death of someone you know.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] There are stories on Enzo Ferrari, legendary McLaren boss Ron Dennis, Alain Prost and more.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Eddie's a racer through and through and a passionate one at that. He's also a really engaging and thoughtful storyteller. I hope you enjoy our conversation.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Eddie, how lovely to have you on the show. Uh, I'm chatting to you from the British Grand Prix, an event you know very well. You're at home in Indiana. And one of the things I said to the guys at the top of the show was that no American driver has started more Grand Prix than yourself.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And, uh, total of 132 races. Just how proud are you of that fact?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Did you always identify as an American driver? Because yes, you were born in Phoenix, but you grew up in Rome. And so as a young up and coming racing driver, dominating karting, F3, F2, were you Italian or were you American in your mind?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Tell us where the racing bug came from. Was it something your father introduced you to or was it because you were in Italy and it was the whole Ferrari thing?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Eddie, there seem to be so many parallels between you and you mentioned Patrese, cause he was a very good skier as well, well I'm assuming you were a good skier, and you all came up together.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I love it, that's quite tenuous. But Eddie, what about you though and the cart? At what point did it become an obsession for you and a realization that you could do this for a profession, for a career?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Continuing the Italian theme, I just want to talk to you now about Ferrari. Fast forward a little bit to 1977. Your Ferrari's test driver. Every Italian schoolboy's dream. How did that deal come about?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Eddie, it's a fantastic story, and you say that you were a bit surprised by the phone call. I mean, you've been very successful in the junior formulas, but what one thing piqued their interest, do you think, in you, given that you were only 18?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I don't want to labour the point but it's such a significant moment in your career and I've actually read that you've described what happened next as the stupidest thing you did in your career and I just


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Have you spent time pondering what might have happened if you hadn't kicked them into touch? I mean, can you just, I know you've told it before, but can you just tell us the story?