Independent podcast company Acast has added radio presenter and podcaster Greg James to its Creator Network with the launch of a new Formula 1 superfan podcast, The Fast and The Curious.
Co-hosted by sports presenter Betty Glover and broadcast journalist Christian Hewgill, the weekly podcast will see James go behind the scenes of the Formula 1 world and interview drivers and mechanics including Lewis Hamilton, Lando Norris, Jenson Button, Toto Wolff, Alex Albon, Esteban Ocon, Logan Sergeant, Oscar Piastri, and George Russel.
“We want this podcast to be a space for everyone, covering much more than just lap times and race results, so The Fast And The Curious delves into the issues facing Formula 1 on and off the track, from Lewis Hamilton telling us why he’s such a vocal advocate for change in the sport to hearing from some of the talented women working in the historically male-dominated team garages,” said James. “F1 is fast, and we're curious. See you on the grid...or wherever you get your podcasts from.”
The first episode of the podcast launched today with insight into the pre-season testing in Silverstone, featuring american race driver Logan Sargeant as the episode’s co-host and appearances from “racing legend” Jenson Butten and Esteban Ocon, as well as the first prize reveal for an F1 giveaway.
James is mostly known for hosting BBC Radio 1’s Breakfast Show since 2018 when he took over radio presenter turned podcaster, Nick Grimshaw. James is also the co-host of cricketing sports podcast Tailenders which was launched in 2015 by BBC Radio 5 with musician Felix White and cricket player Jimmy Anderson.
With this partnership, Acast will be responsible for The Fast and The Curious’ business and advertising by allowing brands and agencies to purchase sponsorships and ads through Acast Marketplace, direct, or programmatically.
“This is a must-listen not only for F1 fans but any sports podcast fan,” said Acast UK & Ireland managing director Josh Woodhouse. “Greg’s, Betty’s, and Christian’s broadcasting expertise means that The Fast And The Curious is the best place to hear the candid side of Formula 1.”
Formula 1 has two official podcasts on its website and other podcast platforms including F1: Beyond The Grid with journalist Tom Clarkson and F1 Nation also with Clarkson and television presenter Natalie Pinkham as his co-host. At the IAB Podcast Upfronts last year, Formula 1 lead podcast editor Chris Browning-Brant spoke about how the podcasts helped enhance the brand, having amassed 80 million listens since launching at that time.
“We’re very lucky that there are lots of unofficial F1 podcasts but overwhelmingly, Formula 1 fans come to F1 official shows for their F1 content and we do our bit as producers to keep people listening, “ said Brant. “When they press play on an episode they stay with it for an hour which is fantastic and they’re really listening in detail as well so it’s also the access we get to big stars, it’s unrivalled.”
