Essential F1

This year's Japanese Grand Prix was definitely more interesting than last year's. Kimi Antonelli's wins makes him the youngest driver to top the F1 leaderboard and puts George Russell in quite an awkward place. 
Great to see McLaren back on the podium after such a bad start to their season and does this mean that we have a Championship fight coming up, but what about Max Verstappen? Another weekend where he has been very critical of the new regs, but would he be so negative if he had a better car. 
To discuss all this and more, F1, Formula E and BTCC presenter, Nicki Shields joins Nicola and Ben in the studio this week. 
01:10 Ben's Japanese Grand Prix Round Up
03:35 Mac are back, but could Piastri have won?
05:12 Ollie Bearman's accident has raised questions about the new regs
08:35 Kimi Antonelli looked untouchable, what does this mean for team dynamics?
11:55 Well done Pierre Gasly, holding off Verstappen. Is this the level Red Bull are at now?
15:06 Leclerc and Hamilton battling is great to watch, but is it costing them valuable points?
17:01 Are the 6 drivers who could all potentially be the 2026 F1 Champion?
18:20 We need to talk about the under-achievers
22:08 Let's look ahead to the next race, which is now Miami
25:30 Miami Grand Prix predictions
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Congratulations to F1's newest winner, Kimi Antonelli, who put in a blistering shift to win the Chinese GP. And he was joined on the podium by his team-mate George Russell, Bono and Lewis Hamilton who looked like a proud dad.
Lewis said that it was some of the best racing he's ever experienced and Ferrari are back in form, but could they have had both cars on the podium rather than letting the drivers battle it out? Joining Ben Edwards and Nicola Hume to discuss this and lots of other talking points from this weekend is BBC 5 Live and Sky F1 Lead Commentator, Harry Benjamin.
01:10 Welcome
01:30 Ben's race roundup
04:06 Lewis Hamilton is back, but could Ferrari have split the two Mercedes?
06:55 Another stellar drive from Ollie Bearman. Bigger things in 2027?
10:55 Alpine have race pace. Are they the best of the rest?
13:14 Where are Red Bull's Wings?
16:20 Even worse than Red Bull, what has happened to McLaren?
19:43 Arise Kimi Antonelli! Faultless first podium. Could he win the title?
24:12 What do we think of the season so far?
29:47 We need to talk about Aston Martin
36:33 Looking ahead to the Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka
38:09 Prediction Championship Of The World! 
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Formula One returned for 2026 with the Australian Grand Prix at Albert Park in Melbourne. New Season and new rules set the scene for an interesting race from the the start. 
Joining Nicola Hume and Ben Edwards for the debrief is broadcaster and host of the BBC's F1: Back At Base, Holly Samos. 
Ferrari are back. Charles Leclerc on the podium, but could they have won? Welcome Arvin Lindblad. What a debut from the only rookie. It was a terrible Saturday followed by a sensational Sunday from Max Verstappen, but he Mebourne curse struck again for Oscar Piastri and 5th for Lando Norris. Did McLaren overcook it in 2025?
Meanwhile, Mercedes are back. Toto Wolff is smoother than ever, but they didn't have it all their own way and as the new regulations are here, what do we think of the 2026 F1 style? We talk about the fact that drivers are now having to back off in qualifying. Is this right? And there's no time to rest as it's the Chinese F1 Grand Prix this weekend in Shanghai with the first Sprint race. Could this circuit give us a good idea of what is to come this year? The team share their predictions for the Chinese Grand Prix.

With the biggest change in rules for years, there's a lot of new stuff to get our heads around for Formula One this season. Ben, Tommo and Vicki are here to tell you about all the tech including aero, energy recovery and boost.

New Season. New Rules. New Studio! We are back with Essential F1 - the Formula 1 podcast that's essential for everybody who's into F1. The Oracle - Ben Edwards, is here to guide us through what will be a very interesting season, with the biggest set of rule changes in a generation. Joining Ben to discuss what pre-season testing has shown us and to run through all the teams, is ‪@TommoMcCluskey‬ and the legendary Vicki Butler-Henderson steers us through the 2026 chicances. And fresh from testing, Producer Jim has a few points for Ben & Tommo to discuss.