29 episodes

Hosted by Michael Kosta of the Daily Show and tech, culture, and F1 commentator Toni Cowan-Brown, this is "Choosing Sides: F1". Formula 1 is the pinnacle of motorsports to more than one billion fans worldwide, with death-defying races, state-of-the-art machinery, exotic locales, and billions of dollars at stake. But to many Americans who follow only the Big Four sports, it’s still a fairly new sport that offers more questions than answers.
But with now three races in the USA - Miami, Austin and Vegas - Formula 1 is growing in popularity and increasingly being discussed in spaces outside of motorsports. 

In season One, Daily Show correspondent Michael Kosta, got the dirt on teams, their history, and their drivers, from how they came up through the sport to the messy problems they’ve had in recent seasons. In Season Two, he's coming back to the table with more questions, and new co-host, Toni Cowan-Brown, will help Michael figure out what type of fan he is. Unlike other sports, Formula 1 offers a wide range of interesting topics - the gossip, the fashion, the logistics, the technology, the business... you get the point. 
New episodes of "Choosing Sides: F1" drop every Tuesday, beginning March 12th but why not binge Season One with Michael Kosta and Lily Herman in the meantime. 

Choosing Sides: F1 Sports Illustrated

    • Sport

Hosted by Michael Kosta of the Daily Show and tech, culture, and F1 commentator Toni Cowan-Brown, this is "Choosing Sides: F1". Formula 1 is the pinnacle of motorsports to more than one billion fans worldwide, with death-defying races, state-of-the-art machinery, exotic locales, and billions of dollars at stake. But to many Americans who follow only the Big Four sports, it’s still a fairly new sport that offers more questions than answers.
But with now three races in the USA - Miami, Austin and Vegas - Formula 1 is growing in popularity and increasingly being discussed in spaces outside of motorsports. 

In season One, Daily Show correspondent Michael Kosta, got the dirt on teams, their history, and their drivers, from how they came up through the sport to the messy problems they’ve had in recent seasons. In Season Two, he's coming back to the table with more questions, and new co-host, Toni Cowan-Brown, will help Michael figure out what type of fan he is. Unlike other sports, Formula 1 offers a wide range of interesting topics - the gossip, the fashion, the logistics, the technology, the business... you get the point. 
New episodes of "Choosing Sides: F1" drop every Tuesday, beginning March 12th but why not binge Season One with Michael Kosta and Lily Herman in the meantime. 

    The Meteorologist

    The Meteorologist

    The Brits love to talk about it but the weather in F1 is so much more than a conversation starter. It's a core component of every race strategy.For this episode, we talked with Bernie Collins who's been trackside at F1 for nearly nine years - Former F1 strategist, now F1 analyst. We also talk with two meteorologists who provide motor racing predictions - Dr. Aaron Studwell and Elizabeth Ohlemacher. We also bring back Scott Mansell to help us understand how the weather - heat and rain - affects the drivers, the cars and thus their driving.   As the saying goes - the rain is the great equaliser in F1. The unpredictability of the weather is one of the most exciting parts of a race weekend and
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    • 38 min
    The History Buff

    The History Buff

    Next year F1 will be celebrating its 75-year anniversary so it's safe to say there is a lot of history in this sport. In this episode, Toni is taking Michael all the way back to the very beginning of F1 to try and make some sense of the puzzle that is this sport. She's invited some very knowledgeable people to help her. Toni and Michael are joined by Matt Bishop who's been in F1 for 30+ years working for McLaren, Aston Martin and was one of the founders of the W Series. James Allen, ex-F1 announcer and now President of Motorsport Business & F1 Liaison at the Motorsport Network Media and Sean Kelly whose work you will most likely know as he is the Chief Statistician to the F1 broadcasters. This is our best attempt at a crash course on the history of F1, how we got here, what's changed and what hasn't.
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    • 52 min
    The Tech Junkie

    The Tech Junkie

    F1 teams are driven by a single focus - to make the fastest car possible. But how do they create these aerodynamic machines?  This week we will be diving into the technology of F1.  And to help us understand the tech that drives the pinnacle of motorsports is a voice you might recognize - Bernie Collins, ex-F1 mechanical and performance engineer, turned F1 strategist now a Skysports F1 commentator. Together we'll try and answer Michael's most pressing questions - What is DRS, how many parts does an F1 car have and most importantly - how does all this help Michael? So let's talk new regulations, aerodynamics, wind tunnels and duct tape. 
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    • 47 min
    The Speed Junkie

    The Speed Junkie

    For this week's episode, we have an incredible lineup to help us understand what it takes to race these cars every week and the speeds they reach. Michael and Toni were joined by Scott Mansel, Madeline Coleman and Romain Grosjean. We'll finally be answering the age-old question - Driver or car?

    Scott Mansell, founder of driver 61, is  a former racing driver and YouTuber with millions of subscribers who will help us understand all the driving skills in racing. Madeline Coleman, F1 journalist at The Athletic who has this incredible ability to ask drivers how they would describe themselves and explain in depth what it's like to be them. And finally, Romain Grosjean, ex-F1 driver and current IndyCar driver talks with us about what it’s actually like to race an F1. He also spends some time talking about that moment on November 29th 2020 when he crashed his car during the Bahrain GP and was stuck in his car on fire for 28 seconds.
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    • 46 min
    The Gossip

    The Gossip

    Can we have sports without entertainment? Or is sports entertainment first and foremost? What is 'WAGagadon'? In the context of F1, these questions become even more interesting and layered, as Elizabeth Blackstock puts it - "Liberty Media is currently stuck marketing a sport when they were sold entertainment."On this week's episode, we discuss all things drama, fashion, gossip and entertainment. Toni has assembled a phenomenal group of fans and experts to convince Michael there is so much beyond the actual race to look forward to. We are joined by Rashi Gaur, the woman behind the lifestyle account that captures and shares every detail of Lewis Hamilton's outfits. As well as the duo, Hannah and Zoe, behind the popular Fan Behavior podcast and last year's co-host Lily Herman, F1 journalists and the author behind the newsletter - Engine Failure. 
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    • 40 min
    The Logistician

    The Logistician

    You've probably heard this saying - F1 is a travelling circus. On this week's episode, we are joined by two of the best experts to help us understand the sheer complexity of putting on every year this 'travelling circus'.Joe Pompliano is an entrepreneur and investor with a passion for breaking down the money and business behind sports. Giorgia Tirabassi is a Trackside Operations Manager at DHL Global Forwarding - DHL is one of the longest-standing sponsors in F1 and the main partner in charge of logistics. We also briefly touch on the hot topic of how many races should the F1 calendar have. Is 24 races too many races?
    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    • 42 min

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