logo
episode-header-image
Sep 16
53m 28s

Graeme Lowdon: getting Cadillac on-track...

FORMULA 1
About this episode
Six months before their first race, the new Cadillac Formula 1 Team is already moving fast. The drivers have been signed, the car is being developed on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean, and engineers are running simulations to prepare for Grand Prix racing.

Leading Cadillac to the Formula 1 grid is Team Principal Graeme Lowdon, who knows how to launch a brand-new team. He did it in 2010 with Virgin Racing, which raced at the back of the grid and was graced by the talent of the late Jules Bianchi.

Graeme tells Tom Clarkson how his experience led to a job with Cadillac, how the team won its place in F1, and the incredible preparation work happening as the clock ticks towards Cadillac’s debut at the 2026 Australian Grand Prix. He explains why Valtteri Bottas and Sergio Perez are the perfect drivers for the team, and why he admires Cadillac reserve driver Colton Herta for swapping IndyCar for a shot at racing in F1.

This episode is sponsored by:

Bitdefender: Team partner of Ferrari. Visit Bitdefender.com to learn more about how Bitdefender supports Ferrari to stay ahead of cyber threats and how YOU can make your digital life safer.

Shopify: sign up for your one-dollar-per-month trial and start selling today at shopify.com/beyondthegrid


Up next
Nov 19
Helmut Marko: choosing champions at Red Bull
<div>Every driver who wants to win with Red Bull needs to impress Helmut Marko. The veteran Motorsport Advisor oversees the team’s young driver programme and helped launch the careers of Sebastian Vettel and Max Verstappen. A former F1 driver himself, he knows what it takes to ra ... Show More
48m 48s
Nov 12
Oscar Piastri: fighting for his first F1 title
<div>With three rounds left of the 2025 season, Oscar Piastri is still in contention to become Formula 1 World Champion for the first time.<br> <br> So what’s it like being in the thick of an F1 title fight with so much at stake?<br> <br> Speaking to Tom Clarkson before the Sao P ... Show More
1h 2m
Nov 5
Andrea Stella + Zak Brown: McLaren’s transformation + the Drivers’ Championship race
<div>McLaren have won back-to-back Constructors’ titles for the first time since the early ‘90s.</div> <br> <div>Just eight years ago, in 2017, they finished second to last, so how exactly have they transformed into World Champions since then?</div> <br> <div>Speaking to Tom Clar ... Show More
58m 53s
Recommended Episodes
Jul 2025
Red Bull’s new era + Ferrari’s ‘silver bullet’? – 2025 Belgian GP Preview with Jolyon Palmer
<div>Former Renault driver and F1TV commentator Jolyon Palmer joins Tom Clarkson to preview this weekend’s Belgian Grand Prix, which features the third F1 Sprint event of the season. <br> <br> What will new Red Bull Team Principal and CEO Laurent Mekies be hoping to achieve durin ... Show More
38m 22s
Jul 2024
How Formula 1 teams work - from factory to racetrack
To win in F1, hundreds of people have to work together. From the mechanics at the track to designers at the factory, every team member plays their part. How are F1 teams organised, and why does every team have to build a unique car? Katie Osborne and Christian Hewgill go back int ... Show More
35m 27s
Sep 15
‘Gloves off’ in McLaren title fight? Ferrari at the front? Kimi’s point to prove – 2025 Azerbaijan GP Preview
<div>Former Renault driver and F1TV commentator Jolyon Palmer joins Tom Clarkson to preview this weekend’s Azerbaijan Grand Prix.<br> <br> After their awkward team orders in Monza, how do Jolyon and Tom think McLaren are managing the title fight between Oscar Piastri and Lando No ... Show More
51m 25s
Mar 2025
Rookie seasons - with Jenson Button + McLaren's Tom Stallard
<div>Faster cars. Brighter spotlight. Higher pressure. A Formula 1 debut is a dream come true, but rookies need to impress, or their first season could be their last...<br> <br> 2009 World Champion Jenson Button tells Christian Hewgill the lessons he learned from his first year i ... Show More
37m 32s
Nov 14
James Hinchcliffe on driving an F1 car + how Laura Winter prepares for an F1 weekend
<div>To answer the latest load of F1 Explains listener questions, Christian is joined F1TV expert James Hinchcliffe, IndyCar race-winner who recently drove an F1 car for the first time, and F1TV lead presenter Laura Winter, who once drove an F4 car but doesn't like to talk about ... Show More
33m 30s
Sep 2024
Coaching F1 drivers - Performance Engineers with McLaren's Tom Stallard
Precision at 200 miles per hour. Millimetre-perfect steering, Millisecond-perfect braking and acceleration. That's what it takes to race in Formula 1. Performance Engineers help the 20 fastest drivers in the world to be their very best. McLaren's Tom Stallard, a former Performanc ... Show More
35m 38s
Oct 23
David Coulthard + Mika Hakkinen explain F1 team mate title battles - LIVE at the US Grand Prix
<div>Once McLaren team mates fighting for the Formula 1 World Championship, now legends of the F1 Paddock, Mika Hakkinen and David Coulthard know how it feels to be in the middle of a title battle.<br> <br> The pair join Christian Hewgill and F1 Explains listeners live on stage i ... Show More
31m 49s
Oct 20
Max on the attack. How do McLaren fight back? – 2025 US GP Review with James Hinchcliffe
<div>F1TV expert and six-time IndyCar race winner James Hinchcliffe joins Tom Clarkson in the Austin paddock to dissect all the action from the United States Grand Prix. <br> <br> Max Verstappen dominated the weekend with victories in the Grand Prix and F1 Sprint to make up more ... Show More
50m 57s
Sep 1
Oscar’s turnaround, Lando’s title blow + Hadjar’s ‘masterpiece’ podium – 2025 Dutch GP Review
<div>Marcin Budkowski, who worked with Oscar Piastri at Alpine and held engineering roles at Ferrari and McLaren, joins Tom Clarkson in the Zandvoort paddock to reflect on an action-packed Dutch Grand Prix.<br> <br> After Lando Norris’s late mechanical failure, Piastri’s seventh ... Show More
45m 4s
Oct 16
Gabriel Bortoleto explains F1 driving tricks, F2 v F1, steering wheels + driving in the pit lane
<div>What does ‘lift and coast’ mean and why do drivers use this technique? How do they reduce their speed under a Virtual Safety Car? Why do they use a different engine mode when driving in the pitlane? And what do the buttons on an F1 steering wheel do? <br> <br> Sauber’s Gabri ... Show More
27m 41s