The Race F1 Tech Show

Just how big a project is designing a 2026 Formula 1 car given the brand new chassis and power unit regulations? Aston Martin CEO and team principal Andy Cowell explains that to host Edd Straw in an interview in the latest F1 Tech Show. 

We also hear former F1 technical director Gary Anderson’s insight on such projects, how they have changed as F1 has evolved and the challenge of knowing what you are aiming for in terms of ...

Lewis Hamilton’s brake problems late in the Singapore Grand Prix turned a potential fifth place into eight place, but why exactly did Ferrari hit trouble? That’s one of the questions we answer in the latest episode of The Race F1 Tech Show.

Gary Anderson joins Edd Straw to look at what happened to Ferrari in Singapore, as well as tackling the warm-weather improvement of Mercedes and Red Bull’s high-downforce form. 

We al...

Why was the gusty wind that hit Baku such a challenge for the drivers? And why are some cars more sensitive to wind than others?

Gary Anderson joins Edd Straw to explain all on this week's edition of The Race F1 Tech Show, and also to shed light on where Red Bull's recent gains have come from, and whether they could also be evident at upcoming tracks - in particular Singapore.

Gary also tackles listener questions on zero side...

With Gary Anderson on holiday, Edd Straw is joined on this episode of The Race F1 Tech Show by Mark Hughes to delve into the reasons behind Red Bull’s dramatic turnaround to win at Monza, 12 months after struggling badly at the same track.

We also discuss whether the 2025 regulations have delivered on their objectives in terms of improving the raceability of the cars, and what to expect from next year’s rules on that front.

T...

Fuel and lubricants are often taken for granted by F1 fans, but it’s a crucial battleground that has a big impact not only on performance, but also reliability. 

We hear from Exxonmobil’s Fiona McKewan, whose role as Red Bull technical advisor means she attends races and closely monitors and analyses the various fluids that are essential to the operation of the car and power unit. 

She explains the rigorous processe...

Edd Straw interviews Nick Wirth, founder of Wirth Research, about how his company is using CFD technology sharpened over his decades in motorsport to tackle wider-world problems. 

Wirth, boss of the Simtek team that raced in F1 in 1994-95, who also had stints with Benetton and Virgin, has long been an evangelist for the power of CFD.

He offers some characteristically strong opinions on why it should have replaced the us...

On this week's episode of The Race F1 Tech Show, Edd Straw and former F1 technical director Gary Anderson reflect on the rain-delayed Belgian Grand Prix, and whether anything can be done to solve F1's current problems with cars running in severe wet weather.

After that, Edd and Gary discuss whether Ferrari has really turned a corner with its suspension upgrade, and whether Gary would have appreciated the feedback documents Lewis...

On the latest episode of The Race F1 Tech Show, former F1 technical director Gary Anderson explains what impact Christian Horner’s sudden removal as team principal could have on Red Bull technically, both in the short and the long-run given the team’s longstanding balance issues. 

Host Edd Straw then quizzes Gary on what he thinks of FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem’s vision for F1’s future, built around a lighter, V8-pow...

On the latest episode of The Race F1 Tech Show, host Edd Straw and former F1 technical director Gary Anderson take a closer look at two of the big tech stories coming out of the Austrian Grand Prix.

The first is Mercedes' ongoing struggle to extract performance in high ambient temperatures, with George Russell finishing over a minute down on the race winner at the Red Bull Ring having won commandingly in Canada two weeks earlie...

On the latest episode of The Race F1 Tech Show, Edd Straw and former F1 technical director Gary Anderson discuss what losing '20 points of downforce' really means, after Lewis Hamilton suffered that fate in Canada, when his Ferrari collided with an unfortunate marmot.

There's also chat about the revised suspension geometry on Lando Norris's McLaren in Montreal, including what the team hope to accomplish with the change, and why ...

With the technical directive reducing the permitted flexibility of the front wings the big talking point of the Spanish Grand Prix weekend, why didn’t it shake up the competitive order as some hoped?

Former F1 technical director Gary Anderson explains that, and the reasons why he always expected the effects to be more subtle, as he looks back at the big technical stories from the Spanish Grand Prix weekend. 

That include...

On the latest episode of The Race F1 Tech Show, host Edd Straw and former F1 technical director Gary Anderson look back on Imola and ahead to Monaco.

First, they discuss how Red Bull turned the tables on McLaren at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, asking whether this was a track-specific change in the pecking order, or whether Red Bull have made a significant step forward.

Next, Edd and Gary turn their attention to Monaco, look...

With five wins from a possible six in 2025 (plus another victory in the Miami sprint), you might be forgiven for thinking McLaren’s MCL39 is without fault. But listen to drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and its clear the car isn’t always perfect to drive, - especially in qualifying trim, and on this podcast host Edd Straw and former F1 technical director Gary Anderson look at the reasons for that. 

Following that, we...

On the latest episode of The Race F1 Tech Show, Edd Straw and former F1 technical director Gary Anderson take a look at the current drama surrounding F1’s 2026 engine regulations, with stakeholders discussing significant changes to the rules aimed at heading off fears about cars repeatedly running out of energy.

Do these changes suggest the rule direction was wrong in the first place, or are there other factors at play?

Befor...

We talk with Gary about Red Bull’s troubles and how it managed to win with a tricky car that took a long time to troubleshoot at Suzuka, and tackle your questions on the minimum weight limit, design drawings and airbox intakes. And with tyre weight a big talking point of late, we discuss whether or not the wheels should be excluded from minimum wight tests.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.c...

Ferrari's Chinese Grand Prix weekend fell apart in embarrassing fashion when, after Lewis Hamilton's fine sprint race win on Saturday, both the Briton and team-mate Charles Leclerc were disqualified from Sunday's Grand Prix for excessive skid wear and an underweight car respectively. But how did one of F1's biggest hitting teams find itself in such a position?

That's the key question answered by former F1 technical director Gary...

The new season of The Race F1 Tech Show kicks off with a look Formula 1’s big four and the directions they have taken with their 2025 cars. 

Ex-Jordan, Stewart and Jaguar technical director Gary Anderson joins host Edd Straw to run the rule over the top cars based on what we’ve seen during launch season and testing. 

There’s plenty of chat about the suspension geometry, with anti-dive levels a major talking point, as well as the area...

On the final episode of The Race F1 Tech Show for 2024, host Edd Straw helps former F1 technical director Gary Anderson navigate through a bumper batch of questions from listeners. 

Included are questions on whether a loss of platform control was the reason behind Red Bull’s dip in dominance, whether there’s evidence that the windtunnel restrictions are what’s keeping the field close, why Mercedes looked strong in cool temperatures ...

On this episode we’re lifting the lid (or should that be peaking under the fuel cap?) of F1 fuel tanks - an area of the car some might assume is fairly basic and uninteresting, but (like everything else in F1) is actually incredibly complex and has a huge impact on performance.

Joining us to share his wisdom is Giles Dawson of Aero Tech Laboratories (ATL), who shares details about fuel tank (or fuel bladder) design considerations, s...