F1Weekly, a podcast worth listening to from now on

The F1Weekly team consists of host Clark Rodgers, billed on the website as: “Our man at the U.N for good reason! When you consider that he was born in France, raised in Spain and then brought over to America by his parents. His father, an American Air Force officer and his mother, a French lady who owned a bar & restaurant in a chic town called Laon."

The bio ads of Rodgers: "His cosmopolitan upbringing has led him in diverse interests like European motorsports and Formula 1 to be specific. His passion for racing started at a very tender age whilst listening to Jimi Hendrix. Having attended Formula 1 venues from Spa-Francorchamp to Indianapolis he has a unique insight into the ever-changing evolution of Formula 1."

Nasir Hameed is F1Weekly's Historical Correspondent. Born and raised in Karachi, Pakistan. He became interested in fast cars with fat groove-less tires from photos in magazines and Firestone ads in Time and Newsweek. His uncle, who still works for Castrol helped the cause with some company promotional materials…

Now based in the USA, Nasir recalls his passion for F1 and its origins: "The racing bug took total control when he discovered Sports Round Up on BBC World Service and in mid-seventies; then the discovery of live F1 commentary on the African service of Radio France Internationale with a faded signal and in French sealed the fate…

“Henri Charpontier was the commentator and I still have vivid memories of how he called the final laps of 1977 Swedish GP when Laffite won his and Ligier’s first race… Mario Andretti running out of “petrol” in the closing stages…

"In 1982 I attended the 1982 Italian GP where Mario was on the pole, then visited the Ferrari factory at the invitation of Mauro Forghieri, the famous engineer. Surprisingly, race winner in a Renault Arnoux was also there as he was going to Ferrari for 1983.

“From Karachi, I used to hand-write letters to drivers at the time and got replies from Andretti, Sneva, Parnelli Jones, Kathy, and, of course, Forghieri. Over the years I wrote some articles and did a lot of PR work for San Jose original rebel racer Willy T. Ribbs, who is still a good friend and a San Jose resident," adds Hameed.

This one reviews the season finale Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, looking back on 2023, and the magic carpet ride of the Flying Dutchman is discussed. Competition is closing in but the F1Weekly crew is convinced there is no stoppin' Verstappen.

The Motorsport Mondial part of the podcast features a Clint Eastwood-style The Good, The Bad & The Ugly segment.

The Good: Includes, apart from the newly crowned triple world champion, Oscar Piastri. His manager, Mark Webber, grilled a good deal signing the Aussie to McLaren. Another good and very impressive win was Sainz Jr in Singapore. What a smart and thinking man’s closing laps, keeping Lando in DRS zone to avoid LCH passing him and threatening victory.

The Bad: Perez becoming Max’s piñata. Two wins compared to 19 for his teammate. Also bad was the false dawn at Aston Martin in the early stages of the season which saw Alonso on the podium in five of the first six races.

The Ugly: How Nyck de Vries’ career was deep fried by Dr. Marko before the season was over. Also fugly was the timing of the Vegas GP. Start at 10pm local time, 1am EST, 6am in the UK and 2am in F1’s biggest TV audience market, Brazil. What were they thinking?

This is a conversation with a gentleman by the name of Kelly Jones who used to race and fly F16 Fighting Falcon. Today he operates Racecraft1 simulation and driver development program in Indianapolis.

Have a listen, we did, and will be doing so each week from now on, and while on their website trawl through some iconic interviews with legends of our sport. F1Weekly Podcast has new, appreciative listeners! Have a listen>>>