Away We Go Podcast

Dianne Bortoletto

Away We Go Podcast goes beyond the track limits to explore Formula 1, from racing to the travel, food and lifestyle of Grand Prix destinations. Hosted by Dianne Bortoletto, a pre-Drive to Survive F1 fan, travel writer and publicist with experience working in motorsport, the podcast offers a different perspective on the sport. Expect race recaps, informed opinion, thoughtful discussion, and interviews with journalists, industry insiders and guests who have experienced Formula 1 up close. The show combines Formula 1 analysis with stories from the paddock and insights into the places, people and culture that surround the sport. Until lights out. Away We Go Podcast © Copyright - all rights reserved #f1podcast #bestF1podcast #australianF1podcast #femaleF1podcast #formula1podcast #f1podcastspotify #bestf1podcastaustralia #newF1podcst

  1. 5d ago

    Ep81: Kimi keeps winning, Russell in tears, Belgium BP

    Dianne and Ciara Gillan recap the 2026 Belgian Grand Prix at Spa, where Kimi Antonelli took pole by the biggest margin of the season, on his dad's birthday, and converted it into another win to extend his lead in the Drivers' Championship. Recorded late Sunday night in WA after a rare dry Spa race. Also on the table this week: George Russell's heartbreaking lap-one DNF after clipping with Lewis Hamilton and the five-second penalty that neither Sky Sports nor we agreed with, Russell close to tears in his post-crash interview, Mercedes admitting all Merc-powered cars had start-line issues, Max Verstappen stealing second on lap one thanks to a tow from Isack Hadjar and the FIA's confusing 30-place grid penalty, Charles Leclerc briefly leading the race, the Piastri and Norris team orders drama with Lando's engineer telling him "no yo-yoing, I'll explain later," Hamilton nearly running over his pit crew and the unsafe release investigation, Norris's slow pit stop that cost him a podium shot, Arvid Lindblad's career-best qualifying in P7, Gabriele Bortoleto's equal career-best in P8, Kimi's growing calmness in the car, and the Leclerc and Piastri incident that somehow escaped a penalty while Hamilton's didn't. Plus a fun stat from Autosport: if you started in F1 at 20 and made every Q3 for 15 seasons before retiring at 35, you'd still be 50 short of Hamilton's Q3 record. And Lewis Hamilton going soft-launch public with Kim Kardashian and family on social media. Nicole Piastri's favourite hotel in the world? Right beside the Spa circuit. Budapest next weekend, then the summer break. Silly season is about to properly ramp up, and hopefully some clarity on the Middle East races before the next round. Follow Ciara at Formula Live Pulse: https://f1livepulse.com Website: https://awaywegopodcast.com Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/away-we-go-podcast/id1783230663 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4zhYpuRy3mL6y44ZERI0X6 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@AwayWeGoPodcast Substack: https://awaywegopodcast.substack.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/awaywegopodcast/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@awaywego.podcast Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/awaywegopodcast LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/away-we-go-podcast Threads: https://www.threads.com/@awaywegopodcast

    Ep81: Kimi keeps winning, Russell in tears, Belgium BP
  2. Jul 13

    Ep80: Silly season: Max, Oscar, Horner

    The mid-season break has barely started and the paddock is already on fire. Di is in Margaret River, Ciara is in Berlin, and this week they unpack every rumour worth talking about in the 2026 silly season. Is Max Verstappen really talking to McLaren? What would actually be in it for him, and what would Jos Verstappen do inside a team with two number one drivers? Then there's the other side of that swap: Oscar Piastri to Red Bull. Di and Ciara debate whether Laurent Mekies can build a championship-winning car around him, and whether McLaren would ever really back Oscar to win a title now Lando has one on the board. Also on the table this week: Christian Horner's next move and why Ferrari feels wrong on every level, the Flavio Briatore factor at Alpine, Gucci officially joining the grid and the fashion war brewing with Louis Vuitton, Yuki Tsunoda linked to Haas with money behind him, Fernando Alonso's future at Aston Martin, and whether Bahrain, Abu Dhabi and Dubai are all at risk if the Middle East situation escalates. Plus a fun fact from the Second Seat Podcast about Oscar's cursed special helmets, and a big F1 Academy moment: 16-year-old Ciara Battig taking pole and P2 on debut as the wildcard at Silverstone, Abbi Pulling becoming the first woman to win a GB3 race, and Nina Gatterman testing an Alpine F1 car. Back next week after Spa. Follow Ciara at Formula Live Pulse: https://f1livepulse.com Website: https://awaywegopodcast.com Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/away-we-go-podcast/id1783230663 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4zhYpuRy3mL6y44ZERI0X6 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@AwayWeGoPodcast Substack: https://awaywegopodcast.substack.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/awaywegopodcast/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@awaywego.podcast Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/awaywegopodcast LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/away-we-go-podcast Threads: https://www.threads.com/@awaywegopodcast

    Ep80: Silly season: Max, Oscar, Horner
  3. Jul 6

    Ep79: Ferrari's 250th, a safety car finish and the British GP that should have been

    Show notes: The British Grand Prix delivered wheel-to-wheel battles, a championship leader fighting a broken car, and a finish that left almost every fan deflated. Charles Leclerc took Ferrari's 250th Formula 1 win at Silverstone, but it came under a safety car after Max Verstappen's late DNF, which is exactly as unsatisfying as it sounds. Dianne Bortoletto and Ciara Gillan, motorsport journalist at Formula Live Pulse (f1livepulse.com), break down everything: Kimi Antonelli's fighting spirit on a mechanically compromised car, George Russell's fortunate second place, Ferrari's decision to keep Lewis Hamilton's five-second penalty quiet until the pit stop window, and the track limits debate that nobody can fully agree on. There's also a fun fact about who actually controls the lights at the start of every Formula 1 race. This week: the safety car controversy, the track limits debate, Oscar Piastri's nightmare race, the sprint results and Predict the Podium leaderboard update. Website: https://awaywegopodcast.com Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/away-we-go-podcast/id1783230663 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4zhYpuRy3mL6y44ZERI0X6 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@AwayWeGoPodcast Substack: https://awaywegopodcast.substack.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/awaywegopodcast/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@awaywego.podcast Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/awaywegopodcast LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/away-we-go-podcast Threads: https://www.threads.com/@awaywegopodcast Next race: the Belgian Grand Prix at Spa.

    Ep79: Ferrari's 250th, a safety car finish and the British GP that should have been
  4. Jun 22

    Ep77: Classic Monaco F1 just €150, with Colin Johnston

    Most Formula 1 fans file Monaco under one day, one budget you don't have: yacht money, championship-week crowds, a Sunday grandstand seat that costs more than the flights. Motorsport historian Colin Johnston has spent years doing it the other way. This week Colin joins Dianne Bortoletto to show how to experience Monaco, Goodwood and the great old European circuits as an independent traveller, without the championship-weekend price tag. He makes the case for the Monaco Grand Prix Historique: the same iconic circuit, the cars you grew up watching, a fully open paddock, and three days of racing from 150 euros. He breaks down where to sit at Sainte Dévote, why Menton beats Nice as a base, and the 7 euro 80 train ride that drops you right at the track. There's Monza in 2024 from inside the paddock the day Charles Leclerc won, the Tifosi compared to Irish rally fans, and why Goodwood Members' Meeting is the most carefully curated weekend in motorsport. Colin writes Formula 1 history for Mercedes, so the conversation also turns to myth-busting the 1950s, the Mille Miglia and Stirling Moss, and whether something real is lost from the sport now that the danger has gone. Plus the final three: the race Colin would travel to, the race destination he would pick for a holiday, and the driver, dead or alive, he would take on holiday. Colin Johnston Website: https://racingdaydreams.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/colinjohnstonuk/ X: https://x.com/CJGrandPrix Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cjgrandprix/ Website: https://awaywegopodcast.com Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/away-we-go-podcast/id1783230663 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4zhYpuRy3mL6y44ZERI0X6 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@AwayWeGoPodcast Substack: https://awaywegopodcast.substack.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/awaywegopodcast/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@awaywego.podcast Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/awaywegopodcast LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/away-we-go-podcast Threads: https://www.threads.com/@awaywegopodcast

    Ep77: Classic Monaco F1 just €150, with Colin Johnston
  5. Jun 15

    Ep76: Hamilton's first win wearing red - Ferrari win in Barcelona

    Dianne is wearing every piece of Ferrari merch she owns, because Ferrari are finally back. After a 595-day drought, Lewis Hamilton took his first race win in red at the Barcelona Catalunya Grand Prix. It came almost to the day, 30 years after Michael Schumacher won his own first race for Ferrari at the very same track, and Hamilton now has seven wins in Barcelona, one more than Schumacher ever managed. If that does not give you goosebumps, Di is not sure what will. Di and Ciara Gillan from Formula Live Pulse break down how it actually happened, because for the first half it did not look like a Hamilton win at all. A slow start gave way to a bold three-stop strategy, and once Lewis came out on fresh tyres he was on rails, increasing his lead every lap and finishing nearly 20 seconds clear. He even said afterwards that the virtual safety car robbed him of a proper battle, which tells you everything about the confidence in that garage right now. They get into the Lewis effect at Ferrari, from the brake change to the way Charles Leclerc says having Hamilton in the team has shifted how the whole operation works. There is plenty to unpack elsewhere too, with Kimi Antonelli still leading the championship despite a heartbreaking DNF, another retirement for Leclerc, and a George Russell second place that Di reckons owed more to luck than pace. This was a brutal race for reliability with eight DNFs, and the conversation turns to the FIA's decision to reverse Pierre Gasly's Monaco penalty while leaving everyone else's in place. Di and Ciara do not hold back on the precedent that sets. There is also the Fernando Alonso retirement chatter, the Flavio Briatore rumours, and a reminder to go and read up on Crashgate if you do not already know it. Next week is a non-race week with a very special guest interview, and then the season rolls on to Austria. Play along with Predict the Podium at awaywegopodcast.com/play-along and see if you can beat Di on her own leaderboard. Listen and follow Away We Go PodcastWebsite: https://awaywegopodcast.com Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/away-we-go-podcast/id1783230663 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4zhYpuRy3mL6y44ZERI0X6 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@AwayWeGoPodcast Substack: https://awaywegopodcast.substack.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/awaywegopodcast/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@awaywego.podcast Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/awaywegopodcast LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/away-we-go-podcast Threads: https://www.threads.com/@awaywegopodcast

    Ep76: Hamilton's first win wearing red - Ferrari win in Barcelona
  6. Jun 8

    Ep75: Kimi Antonelli's Monaco masterclass and a race of chaos

    Monaco is the race everyone loves to call boring, and this year it was anything but. Nineteen-year-old Kimi Antonelli took pole, led every lap, and won, becoming the youngest winner in the history of the Monaco Grand Prix and stretching his championship lead to 66 points after just six rounds. It is the kind of statistic that stops you in your tracks. Behind him, the race fell apart. Max Verstappen stalled on the grid and was out before the first corner, the first of seven retirements from a field of 22. The stewards handed out penalties like a casino dealer on a hot streak, with pit lane speeding catching driver after driver, and a late red flag set up a standing restart that Antonelli handled without flinching. Lewis Hamilton finished second for Ferrari and equalled Ayrton Senna's record of eight Monaco podiums, a moment that clearly meant something to him. Isack Hadjar held off George Russell for a hard-fought third while wrestling a car he was fighting the entire race, and to Di's surprise and delight, Fernando Alonso banked Aston Martin's first point of the season in tenth. Away from the track, Ciara and Di got into Kim Kardashian's Formula 1 debut and that very awkward grid walk moment, the tired idea that the sport is only now discovering glamour when it has always been there. Controversy is never far in F1 and Mohammed Ben Sulayem's push to scrap FIA term limits is right up there. Di applauds Charles Leclerc committing his future to Ferrari while Ciara questions it. And Las Vegas extends its deal to 2037, the only race Formula 1 actually owns. Ciara Gillan joins from Formula Live Pulse. Follow the next race with live telemetry on the Formula Live Pulse app: https://f1livepulse.com Website: https://awaywegopodcast.com Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/away-we-go-podcast/id1783230663 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4zhYpuRy3mL6y44ZERI0X6 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@AwayWeGoPodcast Substack: https://awaywegopodcast.substack.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/awaywegopodcast/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@awaywego.podcast Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/awaywegopodcast LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/away-we-go-podcast Threads: https://www.threads.com/@awaywegopodcast You’ll find more photos and videos on the Away We Go Podcast social media channels: YouTube | Facebook | Instagram | LinkedIn | TikTok | Threads | and also on Substack Or drop us a line at hello@awaywegopodcast.com Your support means the world to us - please rate and review our show on your favourite podcast listening app, we might even read out your review next episode Formula Live PulseApp: Formula Live Pulse is the ultimate second-screen experience for F1 fans. Try it for free for 7 days - no credit card needed f1livepulse.com App Store: https://apps.apple.com/au/app/formula-live-pulse/id6739639442 Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.ss.f1livepulse&pcampaignid=web_share. #Formula1 #F1 #F1podcast #Formula1podcast #FormulaOne #bestf1podcast #australianF1podcast #femalef1podcast #femaleF1podcasthosts #f1travel #travelwriter #f1creator #f1writer

    Ep75: Kimi Antonelli's Monaco masterclass and a race of chaos
  7. Jun 1

    Ep74: From the fashion closet to the F1 paddock: Emily Selleck

    Emily Selleck walked into her first Formula 1 paddock at the Australian Grand Prix and had an interview with Max Verstappen within five minutes. Five years later, she is one of the most well-connected Australians in the sport, having covered races across the calendar while building a distinctive perspective at the intersection of motorsport, culture, and commercial strategy. In this episode, host Dianne Bortoletto and regular co-host Ciara Gillan from Formula Live Pulse talk with Emily about what the paddock really looks like from the inside. The conversation covers Oscar Piastri's championship potential and the McLaren internal dynamics that complicate it, how brands are navigating an increasingly crowded F1 landscape, and where the sport still has ground to gain in engaging women as a serious audience. Emily also goes behind the scenes at Carbone Beach, the Miami Grand Prix's most exclusive hospitality event, where race winners and celebrities converge on the Sunday of race weekend. She shares her take on what makes a genuinely great brand activation in Formula 1, and why the Australian Grand Prix's approach to female partnerships sets a benchmark worth following. Meanwhile Di wants to know why the sport's merchandise offering is still leaving significant opportunity on the table. Now based in New York after nearly a decade in the city, Emily is moving from journalism into brand strategy, helping teams and commercial partners cut through the noise in Formula 1's most dynamic era. Follow Emily Selleck: https://www.instagram.com/emselleck/ Predict the Podium (Play Along): https://awaywegopodcast.com/play-along/ Connect with Away We Go Podcast Website: https://awaywegopodcast.com Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/away-we-go-podcast/id1783230663 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4zhYpuRy3mL6y44ZERI0X6 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@AwayWeGoPodcast Substack: https://awaywegopodcast.substack.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/awaywegopodcast/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@awaywego.podcast Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/awaywegopodcast LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/away-we-go-podcast Threads: https://www.threads.com/@awaywegopodcast Formula Live Pulse: https://f1livepulse.com

    Ep74: From the fashion closet to the F1 paddock: Emily Selleck

About

Away We Go Podcast goes beyond the track limits to explore Formula 1, from racing to the travel, food and lifestyle of Grand Prix destinations. Hosted by Dianne Bortoletto, a pre-Drive to Survive F1 fan, travel writer and publicist with experience working in motorsport, the podcast offers a different perspective on the sport. Expect race recaps, informed opinion, thoughtful discussion, and interviews with journalists, industry insiders and guests who have experienced Formula 1 up close. The show combines Formula 1 analysis with stories from the paddock and insights into the places, people and culture that surround the sport. Until lights out. Away We Go Podcast © Copyright - all rights reserved #f1podcast #bestF1podcast #australianF1podcast #femaleF1podcast #formula1podcast #f1podcastspotify #bestf1podcastaustralia #newF1podcst

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