America Takes the Wheel?

In a new podcast by The Red Bulletin, host Andrew Lawrence (The Guardian, Sports Illustrated, Car & Driver) explores the history, people, technology, and fandom that has catapulted what was once considered a niche showcase in America to a must-see event.

For the pilot episode of Ready for the Big Time: Formula 1, we checked in with America’s last F1 superstar, Mario Andretti, who shared his seemingly improbable story of success, from a refugee longshot to becoming the biggest name in American motorsports.

The second episode of the Ready for the Big Time podcast is a Formula One CliffsNotes of sorts. Host Andrew Lawrence dives into F1's surprising American origins, the rules of the road and cuts to the real chase: the game within the game. Featured guests include motorsports writers Jordan Bianchi (The Athletic) and Hazel Southwell (The Drive).

In this very special episode, the Red Bulletin team went to Miami for the premiere Grand Prix in Magic City. Host Andrew Lawrence speaks with two Red Bull athletes: one is NBA shooting coach Chris “Lethal Shooter” Matthews and the other is racing OG and former F1 driver, Scott Speed. Here they discuss the rising fandom in the US, the physical intensity of the sport, and the surprising parallels between F1 and the NBA.

There’s no doubt that Formula 1’s popularity is rising in the United States. Much of that awareness is credited to the wildly popular Netflix reality show, Drive to Survive. Host Andrew Lawrence speaks with the executive producer of Drive to Survive, James Gay-Rees of Box to Box Films, F1 journalist Jennie Gow and writer Amanda Mull of The Atlantic.

In this episode, host, Andrew Lawrence, examines the technology of F1—why it’s evolved, how the formula keeps the competition close, and what’s far and away the most critical piece of tech. The guests for this episode come right out of the garage and include Jody Egginton, Scuderia AlphaTauri’s technical director and Pyry Salmela, performance coach for AlphaTauri driver, Pierre Gasly. This episode also welcomes back Mario Andretti and F1 reporter, Hazel Southwell.

Two decades before Drive to Survive dominated American F1 attention spans, Red Bull engineered a search to find the next American F1 driver, and along with it, a scrapped reality TV show. Host, Andrew Lawrence, speaks with racer Scott Speed, the winner of the Red Bull Driver Search, and Maria Jannace, the brains behind the program.

No, he’s not talking about the engineering or technology of the sport, but rather, the actual composition of the sport—the people who will not only be watching the sport in the years ahead but participating as well. To help us across the finish line, Andrew speaks with the only American driver in the W-Series driver, Chloe Chambers, essentially an F1 sister series for women racers, and newly signed Red Bull Racing content creator, F1 Elly. Expect cameos from Amanda Mull, staff writer of The Atlantic magazine, and F1 journalist, Jennie Gow.