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A five-time grand prix winner who partnered the likes of Niki Lauda and Alain Prost, John Watson came achingly close to winning the 1982 Formula 1 World Championship. He's Rob Widdows' latest guest in a special podcast series marking 100 years of Motor Sport‘s publication, as he charts a changing era of F1 when Lauda and Mario Andretti introduced new levels of professionalism and ruthlessness to the sport. In a series of fascinating and funny tales, Watson covers driving for Bernie Ecclestone's Brabham team, witnessing Lauda's influence, and seeing the emerging talent of Prost. The driver who still holds the record for winning a grand prix from furthest back on the grid (22nd place) also tackles the art of overtaking and gives his predictions for the future of racing. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

F1 World Champion, four-time IndyCar title-holder and Daytona 500 winner, Mario Andretti is the first guest in a special podcast series marking 100 years of Motor Sport‘s publication Andretti has been a regular in Motor Sport‘s pages for more than half that time, and is still making headlines, with plans to be the first to test the Andretti F1 car, if the team is granted a place on the grid. He joins Rob Widdows to recall a career that made him one of the sport’s all-time greats, from watching Stirling Moss and Alberto Ascari as a spectator, to meeting Colin Chapman, succeeding in F1, and then racing against his son. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

There was one overwhelming Formula 1 winner in 2023, but who were the other stars aside from Max Verstappen and Red Bull? Motor Sport's F1 editor, Mark Hughes; racer and broadcaster Alex Brundle; and Motor Sport special contributor Damien Smith discuss the top performers of the season, including the drivers who showed world championship potential, but didn't have the machinery to win, the remarkable turnaround from McLaren, and the races of the year. Once you've heard their views, don't forget to vote for your choices in the Motor Sport Season Review Awards, in association with Pocher 1:8 Scale Models. Have your say before December 20 for a chance to win Goodwood Season Tickets worth more than £1900. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It was a season of overwhelming domination by Max Verstappen... and of intense competition in the chasing pack. What was the secret of Adrian Newey's rocketship Red Bull? What happened to Aston Martin's early challenge? And what is going on with lewis Hamilton and Mercedes? Mark Hughes, Alex Brundle and Damien Smith form our expert panel to look back over the year and the crucial moments that shaped the 2023 season. Once you've heard their views, have your say on the Motor Sport website by voting in the Season Review Awards, in association with Pocher 1:8 Model Kits by December 20. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Nobody knows the secret of winning at Le Mans more than Tom Kristensen: winner of a record nine 24 Hour races at La Sarthe. In this podcast, recorded in front of a live audience ahead of the 2023 race, Mr Le Mans gives the inside track on how he became the most successful driver in the 100 year history of the race, and offers his thoughts on a new golden era for sports car racing. Hosted by Ed Foster, in partnership with Classic & Sports Finance and Scalextric Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

For over 50 years, Dick Bennetts has been central to some of racing's greatest stories. From giving Ayrton Senna his famous Formula 3 break, to communicating engineering feedback via hand signals with young prodigy Mika Häkkinen, and gaining respect for Nigel Mansell through his spectacular touring car cameos, Bennetts has lived and breathed motor sport through some of its most thrilling moments. In the final installment of Engineering the Greats series 2, in association with Scalextric, Bennetts gives true insight into the link between driver and engineer. Now a stalwart of the BTCC, the New Zealander also talks about what makes the series great, analyses the respective styles of his superstar drivers Colin Turkington and Jake Hill as well as explaining what he would do to make the championship even better. Bennetts also expands on how his West Surrey Racing team could have dominated with Tom Kristensen, and explains why he turned down working for Ron Dennis at McLaren. In another fascinating episode of Engineering the Greats, Bennetts' memories of a brilliant life in racing are not to be missed. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

For success matched only by sheer diversity, few can hold a light to engineering ace Tony Southgate, who joins Rob Widdows for our Engineering the Greats podcast series, produced in association with Scalextric. Designer of Bobby Unser's Indy 500-winning Eagle 68 car, a key contributor to the trailblazing ground-effect Lotus 78 and the creative mind behind Jaguar's Le Mans-conquering XJR-9, the Coventry native has marked himself out as one of racing's great lateral thinkers. Along the way, Southgate worked with some of its greatest drivers, including Mario Andretti, Pedro Rodriguez and Dan Gurney. In this newest episode of this podcast series, Southgate pulls back the curtain on some of motor sport's seminal moments. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As trailblazers go in motor sport, there aren't many that can match up with the groundbreaking achievements of Leena Gade, who joins Rob Widdows for our Engineering the Greats podcast series, produced in association with Scalextric. On her Le Mans debut with Audi in 2011 Gade became the first female race engineer to win at La Sarthe. She She would mastermind wins again in 2012 and 2014, sealing her place as one of Le Mans' engineering greats, before working in GT racing, IndyCar and now Extreme E. In the latest instalment of our podcast series, Gade opens up on what it was like to be in the centre of the Audi winning machine. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Gary Anderson joins Rob Widdows for the latest in our Engineering the Greats podcast series. The former Jordan designer tells how he started working life as a builder, then got his big break in F1 with Brabham as an engineer. Moving on to McLaren, he worked with James Hunt and Alain Prost and was then in IndyCar before Eddie Jordan called him back to the UK — and F1 — where he would make his name designing the legendary Jordan 191. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Steve Hallam, who has worked with Ayrton Senna, Nigel Mansell and Mika Häkkinen joins Rob Widdows for another Engineering the Greats podcast in association with Scalextric. From race engineering Senna to his first wins in F1, to witnessing Mansell’s inimitable racing style in its early years and being at the centre of Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso’s fiery 2007 championship fight, the British engineer has had long a career at the very top. Hear him describe what it takes to work and succeed day in, day out with legends of grand prix racing. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Legendary F1 car designer Patrick Head returns to our Engineering the Greats podcast for series 2, produced in association with Scalextric. He picks up where he left off last time with the story of Williams' dominant 1993 season. Head pulls back the curtain on the fascinating story of that year: of how the team secured Adrian Newey's services, why boss Frank Williams didn't want Damon Hill to partner Alain Prost, and how the cutting-edge FW15C car could have had even more exotic technical tricks, had Williams not been outmanoeuvred in a classic FIA showdown. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Can Max Verstappen win a third world championship? Will Mercedes be able to challenge Red Bull and Ferrari, and which of this year's three rookies will impress the most? Mark Hughes and Johnny Herbert join Motor Sport editor Joe Dunn and writer James Elson to examine the big questions ahead of the 2023 F1 season Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.