Ep72: The brutal truth about Formula 1, with Stewart Bell

Stewart Bell has been covering Formula 1 from the inside for more than 20 years. He's had a front-row seat for some of the sport's biggest moments, from being the only media in the garage for Daniel Ricciardo's first Albert Park run, to interviewing Ayrton Senna's press officer about the day he died at Imola. Now he's turned two decades of paddock access into a book, published by Penguin.In this episode, Stewart joins Dianne Bortoletto to talk about his career, the drivers he's worked with, and what Formula 1 looks like from the inside when the cameras aren't rolling.They cover:How Stewart pitched his way into F1 journalism with no contacts and no racing backgroundWorking with Daniel Ricciardo through his Red Bull years, the McLaren nightmare, and his returnInterviewing Kimi Raikkonen, and the GQ India story that sums up why Kimi is every journalist's nightmareThe chilling behind-the-scenes account of the day Senna died, told by his press officerThe 2025 regulations, battery management in qualifying, and what needs to changeLance Stroll, Leighton Hewitt, and the tennis hit that revealed a different side of a misunderstood driverLewis Hamilton's chances of an eighth title at FerrariStewart's new book, Formula 1: The World's Most Brutal Sport, published by PenguinGet the book here: https://amzn.to/4nAWaNj Stewart on Instagram: http://instagram.com/StewartBellF1 Stewart's website: http://www.stewart-bell.comWebsite: 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