New Autosport podcast: James Allen on F1 launched today

Every episode will feature an insightful twenty-minute interview with a prominent figure from inside and around the sport, focusing on themes beyond the everyday news cycle.

Joining James in the studio for analysis and discussion will be a rotating cast of key figures from Autosport and Motorsport’s global editorial team plus guests from the broader F1 media world.

Thoughtful, accessible and insightful, the James Allen on F1 podcast takes the helmet off the sport. It is for any fans looking for a glimpse behind the scenes at the human beings who make the fascinating world of F1.

Episode One looks at Ayrton Senna and his influence on how F1 tells its story today. The F1 world has a month of events lined up to celebrate the Brazilian three-time world champion, who died 30 years ago.

“For many lovers of the sport, myself included, he remains the greatest driver of all time,” says Allen, who knew Senna and spoke to him on the day he died at Imola in 1994. “His story and passionate, intense character are perfectly captured in the documentary Senna. This movie fascinates me because it crossed F1 over to mainstream entertainment audiences in a way that wasn’t happening at all for F1 back in 2010. This wasn’t a film about cars and race results, it was about a human being.

“Without the Senna movie would Drive to Survive have been the crossover hit into mainstream audiences that it proved to be? And would F1 have the fanbase it has today? I really don’t think so.”

The London Times recently rated Senna as being Number 4 in the list of Best Sports Movies of all time.

For our main feature interview in Episode 1 of the podcast, the writer and producer of Senna, Manish Pandey, gives us his take on why F1 is such compelling drama. Brazilian journalist Julianne Cerasoli joins new Autosport Editor-in-Chief Rebecca Clancy in the studio.

Cerasoli opines that “Senna is an example of self-improvement, of pushing the boundaries. He wasn’t a perfect man; he was a very human man and I think that’s part of the reason why we are still talking about him today.

“He had his flaws but he was doing his best and it brought out the more human
side of the sport. I think he was the ultimate storyteller of F1, because he could do an amazing pole lap and then say afterwards he was talking to God.”

James Allen on F1 is an Autosport podcast, produced fortnightly. Episode 1 is out today. Get in touch with the podcast with comments and questions on jamesallenonf1@motorsport.com