Ahead of the season’s return, Matt Majendie rounds up some of the stories you may have missed over the summer break, before turning his attention to Zandvoort and the Orange Army that awaits Max Verstappen in his homeland.

First there is the question of who Verstappen’s driving partner next season will be, with rumours swirling. Matt discusses the likelihood of a whole host of names, whether moves for Álex Palou, Fernando Alonso, or George Russell, or internal hires from Red Bull’s stable for Isaac Hadjar, Liam Lawson or Arvid Lindblad.

Christian Horner’s future remains the subject of much speculation, and Matt assesses whether an appointment at Alpine, Cadillac or Aston Martin could be on the cards. No longer the subject of rumour is Cadillac’s driver line up for next season, with Valtteri Bottas and Sergio Perez now confirmed to return to the grid with them, and Matt explains why this is a smart move.

Finally we look to the Netherlands Grand Prix, where Matt cannot foresee Verstappen repeating his success of previous years on this circuit and breaking up the McLaren drivers’ dominance. Meanwhile the return of the F1 season comes with the return of The Inside Track prediction league – send us your 1-2-3 on Instagram for Zandvoort, and help get the audience team some much needed points!

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For the entire season Matt Majendie and Rick Edwards are embedded with Max Verstappen and the Red Bull Racing Formula 1 team. Matt will be in the pits and in the garage, with the drivers and in the factory, at the debriefs and the strategy session.

Over the midsummer break we are bringing you special interviews and insight to give you the F1 fix.

Get involved with the show!

Email us: theinsidetrack@bbc.com

Follow us on social media:


Instagram: @theinsidetrack_podcast


TikTok: @theinsidetrack_pod


YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@theinsidetrack_podcast

This podcast is produced by BBC Studios, a commercial company that is wholly owned by the BBC. No money from the licence fee was used to create this podcast. The money BBC Studios makes is re-invested to help fund the BBC.

Producer: Jarek Zaba
Executive Producer: James Cook
Social Media and Video Editor: Georgina Revell

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Is there any word better than ‘curiosity’ to describe Alpine? How on earth do you go about grading Ferrari? And what’s an outsider’s take on Red Bull’s season so far?

In this pod swap episode of The Inside Track, Late Braking’s Ben Hocking joins Matt Majendie and the theme of the day is the 10 teams on this season’s grid. Matt and Ben pull out their red pen and grade each by their own personal criteria… Who is exceeding expectations? Who has let themselves down? And which team has the most entertaining in race radio?

Special attention is paid to Red Bull, with Matt eager to get the perspective of an F1 fanatic who is a little more detached from the personalities involved. How does Ben rate Max Verstappen and Yuki Tsunoda’s year so far, and what did he make of the surprise Christian Horner sacking?

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For the entire season Matt Majendie and Rick Edwards are embedded with Max Verstappen and the Red Bull Racing Formula 1 team. Matt will be in the pits and in the garage, with the drivers and in the factory, at the debriefs and the strategy session.

Over the midsummer break we are bringing you special interviews and insight to give you the F1 fix. 

Get involved with the show!

Email us: theinsidetrack@bbc.com

Follow us on social media:


Instagram: @theinsidetrack_podcast


TikTok: @theinsidetrack_pod


YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@theinsidetrack_podcast

This podcast is produced by BBC Studios, a commercial company that is wholly owned by the BBC. No money from the licence fee was used to create this podcast. The money BBC Studios makes is re-invested to help fund the BBC.

Producer: Jarek Zaba
Executive Producer: Paul Smith
Social Media and Video Editor: Georgina Revell

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

As acting Head of Sporting at Red Bull, Steve Knowles is a familiar figure to the race stewards, often acting as a liaison between the team’s drivers and the authorities.

In the first of our summer break specials Matt Majendie speaks to Steve about the various facets of Steve’s role… which is everything from discussing rules, safety changes and race layout with the FIA; being the primary contact with race control during all the weekend sessions; and having to fight Max Verstappen’s corner, whether he’s attempting a risky overtake or throwing a towel out of his car.

Steve sheds light on the conversations he will have with the authorities over issues such as weather delays at Spa, and also gives it a bit more context to the summer break – and why exhausted teams are more than happy to switch their work phones and laptops off for a fortnight.

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For the entire season Matt Majendie and Rick Edwards are embedded with Max Verstappen and the Red Bull Racing Formula 1 team. Matt will be in the pits and in the garage, with the drivers and in the factory, at the debriefs and the strategy session.

Over the midsummer break we are bringing you special interviews and insight to give you the F1 fix.

Get involved with the show!

Email us: theinsidetrack@bbc.com

Follow us on social media:


Instagram: @theinsidetrack_podcast


TikTok: @theinsidetrack_pod


YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@theinsidetrack_podcast

This podcast is produced by BBC Studios, a commercial company that is wholly owned by the BBC. No money from the licence fee was used to create this podcast. The money BBC Studios makes is re-invested to help fund the BBC.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Despite low expectations to begin with, it was yet another disappointing weekend for Red Bull Racing after a lowly 9th and 17th for Max Verstappen and Yuki Tsunoka respectively. Rick Edwards and Matt Majende pick the bones of the final race before the summer break, questioning whether the Red Bull season can still be salvaged. In better news for Laurent Mekies, Max Verstappen has vowed to stay with the team into 2026, extinguishing long running rumours of his departure.

Meanwhile McLaren racers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri continue to go great guns, and Rick and Matt discuss how their inter-team rivalry is shaping up for classic viewing in the second half of the season.

But first F1 fans must bide their time through the summer break while F1 workers get to enjoy a much needed rest… Meanwhile F1 journalists have to fill the time inventing rumours so Rick and Matt have a stab at creating some of their own.

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For the entire season Matt Majendie and Rick Edwards are embedded with Max Verstappen and the Red Bull Racing Formula 1 team. Matt will be in the pits and in the garage, with the drivers and in the factory, at the debriefs and the strategy session. Each week, Matt will share insider stories and updates with Rick in the studio.

Get involved with the show!

Email us: theinsidetrack@bbc.com

Follow us on social media:


Instagram: @theinsidetrack_podcast


TikTok: @theinsidetrack_pod


YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@theinsidetrack_podcast

This podcast is produced by BBC Studios, a commercial company that is wholly owned by the BBC. No money from the licence fee was used to create this podcast. The money BBC Studios makes is re-invested to help fund the BBC.

Producer: Jarek Zaba
Executive Producer: Paul Smith
Social Media and Video Editor: Georgina Revell

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In the latest Inside Track exclusive, Matt Majendie had the chance to sit down with freshly appointed Red Bull Team Principal Laurent Mekies.

Laurent reflected on this week’s announcement that Max Verstappen is firmly staying put with Red Bull for the 2026 season, and provides an insight into working with such a formidable champion.

He also covers Red Bull’s efforts to get the best out of Yuki Tsunoda and his own leadership style – and we get a taste of Laurent Mekies the F1 fan and family man.

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For the entire season The Inside Track has exclusive access to the Red Bull Racing Formula 1 team.

Get involved with the show!

Email us: theinsidetrack@bbc.com

Follow us on social media:


Instagram: @theinsidetrack_podcast


TikTok: @theinsidetrack_pod


YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@theinsidetrack_podcast

This podcast is produced by BBC Studios, a commercial company that is wholly owned by the BBC. No money from the licence fee was used to create this podcast. The money BBC Studios makes is re-invested to help fund the BBC.

Producer: Jarek Zaba
Executive Producer: Paul Smith
Social Media and Video Editor: Georgina Revell

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

After 405 races with Christian Horner at the helm, the 2025 Belgian Grand Prix is the first ever Red Bull outing without him. How happy will the team and Verstappen be with a 4th placed finish and a victory in the Sprint?

Rick Edwards and Matt Majendie assess the race in full, debating the merits of the weather delay and the fine margins between McLaren teammates Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris, and questioning whether Spa is the worst track to be on pole.

We also hear from Yuki Tsunoda on the turbulent changes at Red Bull, and the team’s chief engineer, Paul ‘Pedals’ Monaghan, on how many more upgrades we might see to the cars this season.

Rick and Matt also take some time to ponder the most sensational driver moves in F1 history, whether Lewis Hamilton to Ferrari or Aryton Senna to McLaren, and they look ahead to this weekend’s race in Hungary – will Red Bull continue to struggle on their bogey track?

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For the entire season Matt Majendie and Rick Edwards are embedded with Max Verstappen and the Red Bull Racing Formula 1 team. Matt will be in the pits and in the garage, with the drivers and in the factory, at the debriefs and the strategy session. Each week, Matt will share insider stories and updates with Rick in the studio.

Get involved with the show!

Email us: theinsidetrack@bbc.com

Follow us on social media:


Instagram: @theinsidetrack_podcast


TikTok: @theinsidetrack_pod


YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@theinsidetrack_podcast

This podcast is produced by BBC Studios, a commercial company that is wholly owned by the BBC. No money from the licence fee was used to create this podcast. The money BBC Studios makes is re-invested to help fund the BBC.

Producer: Jarek Zaba
Executive Producer: Paul Smith
Social Media and Video Editor: Georgina Revell

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It’s the first race of the post Christian Horner era, so attention is firmly focused on the Red Bull camp ahead of the Belgian Grand Prix at Spa.

Matt Majendie questions just what the arrival of new Team Principal Laurent Mekies means for Max Verstappen and the wider Red Bull team. Has Oliver Mintzlaff brought in a football style ‘hire and fire’ approach to F1?

The future of Red Bull’s second driver, Yuki Tsunoda, is the subject of speculation, and Matt addresses rumours that he could be ditched mid season. And, looking forward to the race itself, he assesses how changes to Verstappen’s car has the potential to be affected by the weather.

—

For the entire season Matt Majendie and Rick Edwards are embedded with Max Verstappen and the Red Bull Racing Formula 1 team. Matt will be in the pits and in the garage, with the drivers and in the factory, at the debriefs and the strategy session. Each week, Matt will share insider stories and updates with Rick in the studio.

Get involved with the show!

Email us: theinsidetrack@bbc.com

Follow us on social media:


Instagram: @theinsidetrack_podcast


TikTok: @theinsidetrack_pod


YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@theinsidetrack_podcast

This podcast is produced by BBC Studios, a commercial company that is wholly owned by the BBC. No money from the licence fee was used to create this podcast. The money BBC Studios makes is re-invested to help fund the BBC.

Producer: Jarek Zaba
Executive Producer: Paul Smith
Social Media and Video Editor: Georgina Revell

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Edd Straw from The Race podcast joins Matt to give his take on Christian Horner’s demise, the truth behind the Max Verstappen rumours and the future for both Horner and Red Bull. Matt and Edd also talk about the rivalries between Max, George, Lando and Oscar, give their mid-season report card, and look ahead to the next race at Spa.

Get involved with the show!

Email us: theinsidetrack@bbc.com

Follow us on social media:


Instagram: @theinsidetrack_podcast


TikTok: @theinsidetrack_pod


YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@theinsidetrack_podcast

This podcast is produced by BBC Studios, a commercial company that is wholly owned by the BBC. No money from the licence fee was used to create this podcast. The money BBC Studios makes is re-invested to help fund the BBC.

Executive Producer: James Cook
Social Media and Video Editor: Georgina Revell

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.