The Outside Line Podcast

This week we cover the F1 race in China and the Indycar race in Arlington. In F1, the mechanical carnage predicted last week comes true, as only 15 of the 22 cars finish the race. Still, we got to see plenty of leapfrogging, the new term we invent for the ‘artificial’ racing we get with these new regulations. We also cover the opening rounds of F1 Academy, where this year over 66% of the field are rookies. Luckily, we only have to wait 10 more weeks before we see them again! In Indycar, Marcus Ericsson gets his first pole since the Harlem Shake craze, but can he convert it to a win as last years Herta pit stop curse spreads to the whole Andretti team.  Music provided by Sascha Ende under the CC BY 4.0 license: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week we cover the return of Formula 1, with some new teams, new regulations, and some new (and old) drivers. We also cover Indycar at a short oval in Phoenix and the F2 support races. In F1, Crofty is preoccupied with sweet shops and doomsayer Martin Brundle is predicting carnage, but will we see some actual racing or will Mercedes disappear into the distance as everyone predicts? In Indycar, Veekay makes sure the championship stays alive and Rasmussen tests the guts-to-brains ratio. Finally, in F2, Peter is forced to experience a race as Emma does, and doesn’t like it. Music provided by Sascha Ende under the CC BY 4.0 license: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week sees the welcome return of Indycar and we cover all the action from St. Petersburg. To make up for 6 long months of off-season, we binge watch FP1, FP2, qualifying, warmup, and the race itself which proved to be an overdose of Will Buxton for Emma, who also binged Drive to Survive season 8. A new season offers new possibilities, but it was familiar themes that dominated the weekend: Palou brilliance, Penske being good, Mclaren almost competing, and terrible luck for the Andretti #26 car. We did get some surprises though: DCR cars in the fast 6 and a hench Marcus Armstrong. Music provided by Sascha Ende under the CC BY 4.0 license: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Formula 1 is almost back, so this week we preview the upcoming season. We discuss all the driver, team, and rule changes for 2026, that are supposed to deliver better racing. We also ask what success might look like for each team, from a constructors championship for Mercedes to not coming last for Aston Martin and Cadillac. Finally we attempt to make some predictions, so listen to the end to find out if either of us is crazy enough to predict a Gasly win or even an Antonelli drivers championship. Music provided by Sascha Ende under the CC BY 4.0 license: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week we cover the Formula E double header from Jeddah, while also discussing the (not good) news coming from F1 testing and the (good) news in Indycar, where a new engine deal might herald the return of the Honda Honda. In a week where Max Verstappen complained that Formula 1 was in danger of becoming “Formula E on steroids”, due to the energy saving demands of the new regulations, pitboost belies his argument by giving us a full 30 laps of racing. We also saw Dan Ticktum finally make use of his package (from Cupra-Kiro), Edo Mortata be good at qualifying, and Nyck de Vries get a 60 (sixty) grid place penalty, but who will lead the championship a third of the way into this season?Music provided by Sascha Ende under the CC BY 4.0 license: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week we present our preview/primer for the upcoming Indycar season. Although, we do admit it’s a little early, given one driver hasn’t been officially announced and it’s even unclear whether one team will actually participate this year. Still, we review some of the reasons why we love Indycar, before discussing the cars, the tracks, the teams, and the drivers for 2026. We try to give a bit of information and context for all the teams, including the ultimate simplification of just calling a certain team, team evil.  Music provided by Sascha Ende under the CC BY 4.0 license: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week we return to the so-called Sunshine State and discuss the Formula E Miami e-prix. The cold conditions caused many teams to gamble on their tyre pressures, leading to an interesting mix of drivers at the front. Can Drugovich show his potential? Can Evans return to winning ways? Can Wehrlein podium his way to a championship?and can Eriksson remind Emma that he exists?Music provided by Sascha Ende under the CC BY 4.0 license: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week we cover the famous 24hrs of Daytona, traditionally the start to the racing year. Although, this time, it was actually more like 17 hrs of Daytona due to a thick blanket of fog for most of the night. In fact, the only car that could be clearly seen was the fluorescence green and yellow number #911 car, or equivalently, the grello’s in the mist. Still, we got to see drivers from all our favorite series, IMSA, WEC, Indycar, Formula E, F1 (formerly), and F2 race each other. In GTP, the question was could anyone stop Penske Porsche from winning a third Daytona in a row. The question in LMP2 was whether first lap first turn carnage could actually affect a 24 hour race, and in GTD, the question was whether nominative determinism meant the number #1 car could only finish first. Music provided by Sascha Ende under the CC BY 4.0 license: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As the interminable off-season trundles on, we take the opportunity to discuss various bits of trivia from motorsport. Mainly from Formula E, but with a bit of Formula 1 and Indycar thrown in for good measure. Listen to find out the surprising number of drivers Andretti used in their first season in Formula E, why there were two Indycar GPs separated by 9000 km on the same day, and who was once sent to attend a Formula E race as a punishment.Music provided by Sascha Ende under the CC BY 4.0 license: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week we cover the first proper race of the new year, namely Formula E in Mexico. In the 150th Formula E race, we saw DS Penske incorrectly celebrate for too long, Nyck De Vries sit in a broken car for too long, and Edo Mortara wait too long (to take his final attack mode). However, it was Citroen, the not really new team who got the energy strategy perfect and got Nick Cassidy into the lead to give us a thrilling end to the race. Despite this on-track action, the post race discussion was dominated by Dan Ticktum, who attacked his fellow drivers, the stewards, random people online, and, most egregiously, the frozen food chain Iceland. Listen to find out if Emma will still defend Dan. Music provided by Sascha Ende under the CC BY 4.0 license: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As the off-season continues, we turn to the Amazon Prime TV show Formula E: Driver for our motorsport sustenance. The Drive to Survive clone follows Ticktum, Wehrlein, Barnard, da Costa, and Rowland during the 2024/2025 season. We review the four episodes of season two, which saw an actual rivalry between Pascal and António, an attempted rivalry between Dan and Taylor, and a lot of angry curtain pulls. Thankfully FE returns next week.Music provided by Sascha Ende under the CC BY 4.0 license: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A very special episode this week where we look back on our favorite rants from Emma's Attack Mode. A diverse collection that includes a varied list of people, places, rules, media, metaphysical concepts, and even countries that all incurred Emma's wrath during the past year of motorsport. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this week’s episode we review the F1 season just finished. We go all the way back to March 2025 and look at how it all started for the 20 drivers on the grid this year. We recap the major incidents throughout the full, 24 race, calendar including unexpected podiums, unexpected exits, numerous false dawns for Ferrari, and the inescapable Papaya Rules. We also decide if it was a good, bad, or mid season for each driver before asking how we think this season will be remembered in the future. Music provided by Sascha Ende under the CC BY 4.0 license: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It’s our end of year honours shows, the spectacular Pato Awards. Who will win the coveted Pato statuette for Driver of the Year? Who will win Rookie of the Year? And who will win Baby Boy of the year? We also give out the Oscar (Piastri) for best scriptwriting (aka most surprising incident), an Emmy for outstanding attack mode (named for co-host Emma’s weekly feature), an (Aurelia) Nobels peace prize for best rivalry, the Leclerc prize for saddest moment, and the Flavio Briatore conspiracy of the year, amongst other awards. Music provided by Sascha Ende under the CC BY 4.0 license: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week we cover the season finale of F1 in Abu Dhabi where Oscar, Max, and Lando were vying for the drivers championship, while all the other drivers were terrified of doing a Latifi, and affecting the result. Then as we say goodbye to the ground effect era in F1, we say hello to the air effect era of FE, where Pepe Marti gets launched in the season opener in Brazil. We also cover the final race of F2 where Crawford, Vershoor, and Browning appear to be competing to avoid finishing 2nd in the championship. Music provided by Sascha Ende under the CC BY 4.0 license: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

With the twelfth season of Formula E starting in Brazil this weekend, we encourage everyone to give the series a go, and so here’s a bonus episode that covers everything you need to know. We discuss the history, the missteps, the rules, the energy, the overtakes, the tracks, the teams, and the drivers. Music provided by Sascha Ende under the CC BY 4.0 license: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week we cover the penultimate race of the F1 season in Qatar, where again we saw a dramatic result from a less than dramatic race. Pirelli mandated a high pressure for their tyres, but could Lando and Oscar withstand the pressure of a Max comeback. We also talk stickers, gravel, and wombats. In F2, Fornaroli can clinch the championship if Crawford, Browning, and Vershoor all underperform, which surely can’t happen. We also keep an eye on Martins, who only has 4 races left to claim his yearly victory in F2. Music provided by Sascha Ende under the CC BY 4.0 license: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week we cover the Las Vegas Grand Prix where sparks were flying, although sadly for Lando and Oscar, it was mainly from their titanium skid blocks. In a wet qualifying session, we actually got to see wet tyres instead of red flags, while in the race, we got to see Lando try to bully Max instead of the other way round. While there was plenty of drama at the first corner, the real drama came several hours after the race. In F1 Academy, they stick a Pin in it as the season comes to an end as Doriane and Maya battle for the championship.  Music provided by Sascha Ende under the CC BY 4.0 license: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week we cover the Macau Grands Prix in F4, GT3, and Formula Regional, where once a year the world gathers to watch cars repeatedly crash at Lisboa corner. We come across some familiar names and witness heartbreak for Freddie Slater and Fionn McLaughlin as some drivers manage to Nael the safety car restarts. However, the saddest moments comes as the best liveried car, the Sanrio Cinnamoroll Audi, is knocked out due to mechanical problems.  Music provided by Sascha Ende under the CC BY 4.0 license: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week we cover the F1 weekend in São Paulo, Brazil, where we saw the butterfly effect in action as small differences in racing produced wildly different outcomes. Sadly for Bortoleto the Borboleta effect didn’t help him, as he crashed out of both races. We also saw a fractal crash in the sprint race as 3 cars had self-similar crashes, there was a 3 body problem at turn 1 and Max pursued a bifurcated strategy. However, it was Lando who escaped the chaos and extended his lead in the drivers championship. We also take a look at the final race in WEC, where a bad weekend for Ferrari in F1 was ameliorated by winning the Hypercar constructors championship.  Music provided by Sascha Ende under the CC BY 4.0 license: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.