The highs and lows of Honda's rollercoaster F1 journey
The latest episode of And Colossally That’s History tells the rollercoaster story of Honda’s involvement in Formula 1.Join Matt Bishop and Richard Williams as they explain how founder Soichuro Honda’s deep love of motor racing led him to enter a car in F1 in 1964, barely a year after the first Honda road car had left the factory.The Japanese team’s early forays into Grand Prix racing - met with scepticism by some - are discussed, as well as how Honda became race winners before leaving F1 shortly afterwards - something that’s been a feature of Honda’s involvement in the top level of racing.There’s also discussion about Honda’s second era, when it powered Williams to championships before shifting allegiances to McLaren where even greater domination followed, as well as one of F1’s most enduring alliances with a man beloved by Honda: Ayrton Senna. Matt and Richard also reflect on Honda’s third F1 era, when Honda became a fully fledged manufacturer again, before withdrawing again and watching Brawn take its cars to championship glory.And finally, the present Honda era, which began with a disastrous rekindling with McLaren but morphed into more title winning success, this time with Red Bull, is discussed.Want to get the end-of-season Colossally bonus episode and every episode ad-free? Join The Race Members' Club on Patreon today - we even have an 'F1-only' tier! Check out the new Colossally items in The Race Shop - members get a 15% discount! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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1:16:30
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1:16:30
Jack Brabham's unique achievement - and why it'll never be matched
On this week’s Colossally, Matt and Richard reappraise the career of a driver whose unique achievement in winning the F1 world championship in a self-built machine bearing his own name will likely stand in eternity: Sir Jack Brabham.In debates around F1’s greatest driver, Black Jack’s name doesn’t always come up, despite his three world titles - but should it? That’s one of the topics of conversation in a podcast that charts Brabham’s rise from the dirt tracks of his native Australia to the pinnacle of racing.Matt and Richard discuss how Brabham’s engineering background, fierce competitiveness and ‘brutally effective’ driving style helped him forge a path to the top as not only a driver, but a team owner and constructor too. FREE WEEK: Want to sample bonus episodes and ad-free listening for FREE? Until the end of Tuesday 11th November, everything new that we publish for The Race Members' Club on Patreon is available to view FREE OF CHARGE, including our in-car insights podcasts over the Brazilian GP weekend. Go to Patreon.com/therace Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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1:00:52
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1:00:52
Brazil 2008: The title showdown that had it all
As F1 2025 heads towards a spectacular conclusion, we wind the clock back to arguably the greatest title showdown of them all, which happened 17 years ago this coming Sunday: Brazil 2008.It's a race that hosts Matt Bishop and Richard Williams were both in attendance for, affording us a unique perspective to look back on what happened, with Matt and Richard recalling how events played out through their own experiences: Matt watching on nervously from the garage as McLaren's PR and Communications chief, and Richard in the press room as a working journalist reporting on the event.Listen in as Matt and Richard discuss the build up to the race, explaining its significance to all the key players, and how the tension grew and grew all weekend before that spectacular climax where McLaren's Lewis Hamilton snatched victory from the jaws of defeat, denying Ferrari's Felipe Massa - a moment that, even today, generates plenty of emotion...Want to get the end-of-season Colossally bonus episode and every episode ad-free? Join The Race Members' Club on Patreon today - we even have an 'F1-only' tier! Check out the new Colossally items in The Race Shop - members get a 15% discount! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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59:44
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59:44
The amazing story of F1’s craziest track - and why grand prix racing never went back
Pescara, a seaside town halfway down Italy’s Adriatic coast, stands proudly in the record books for having been home to the longest track ever used in Formula 1.Made up of 15.9 miles of country roads, the circuit of Pescara only hosted one world championship-status Grand Prix, in 1957, but it’s significance was mighty - as Matt Bishop and Richard Williams (who literally wrote the book on the Pescara GP) explain in the latest episode of And Colossally That’s History!Over the course of the episode you’ll learn why Pescara found its way onto the F1 calendar in the first place, why the sport's most famous team boycotted the race, which animals the drivers had to dodge during practice, and why Stirling Moss loved the circuit so much when others hated it. As you might imagine, there are plenty of amazing stories to tell, including one about a driver who stopped for fuel at a commercial filling station mid-race, and another about a driver who jumped a level crossing while being chased by police on his way home from the race… Want to get the end-of-season Colossally bonus episode and every episode ad-free? Join The Race Members' Club on Patreon today - we even have an 'F1-only' tier! Check out the new Colossally items in The Race Shop - members get a 15% discount! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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1:05:19
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1:05:19
Adrian Newey: The making of an F1 design genius
Today, Adrian Newey is widely recognised as an F1 design genius, with his cars having been driven to 14 drivers’ world titles, 12 constructors’ titles, and more than 220 Grand Prix victories. But where did his extraordinary talent for designing (and engineering) racing cars come from? That’s the topic of the latest episode of And Colossally That’s History, which delves into the roots of Newey’s unprecedented success.Matt and Richard share incredible tales from Newey’s youth which foreshadow the man he’d become, including the time he used ingenuity and a rules loophole to avoid punishment at school. There’s also plenty of chat about Newey’s career before his big breakthrough with Williams in the early 1990s, such as the transformational work he did in sports prototypes, the period he spent race engineering a pair of Indycar legends, his disastrous first foray into Grand Prix racing, and the giant-killing successes with F1 minnows Leyton House that caught Patrick Head's attention. Along the way you’ll learn how Adrian acquired and honed the skills and design preferences that would later make him the most valuable technical brain in the F1 paddock. Oh, and listen out for Matt's anecdote about the amazing declaration former McLaren boss Ron Dennis once made to him about Newey…Want to get the end-of-season Colossally bonus episode and every episode ad-free? Join The Race Members' Club on Patreon today - we even have an 'F1-only' tier! Check out the new Colossally items in The Race Shop - members get a 15% discount! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
And Colossally That’s History! (the name a reference to a famous line of Murray Walker commentary) is the podcast that takes an unadulterated look at the earth-shattering events, epic sagas and huge characters that have shaped motor racing history. From Grand Prix racing as a tool of the Nazi war machine to how Ayrton Senna’s death shaped modern F1, hosts Matt Bishop and Richard Williams will discuss and dissect these topics as only they can, bringing new insight and fresh perspectives that help explain how motor racing moved from niche past-time to the multi-billion-dollar sporting spectacle of today. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.