James Hinchcliffe: F1TV expert on surviving ovals + being inspired by Villeneuve
F1 Beyond The Grid
karenellenbevan
4.8 • 5.2K Ratings
🗓️ 26 August 2025
⏱️ 54 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
A year later, he scored a sensational pole position at the very same racetrack.
Speaking to Tom Clarkson, James talks through the freak injury he suffered and how he made such a miraculous recovery.
A six-time IndyCar race winner, James also explains what it takes to be quick on high-speed ovals, whether the likes of Max Verstappen would be competitive on them and whether Indy stars like new four-time champion Alex Palou could succeed in Formula 1.
Tom asks James why, despite being such a huge fan of F1 growing up, he didn’t pursue a career in the pinnacle of motorsport, and whether he thinks the United States needs an American on the grid.
Now a regular pundit and commentator on F1TV, James also shares his thoughts on the thrilling battle between McLaren teammates Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris to become World Champion in 2025.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | The joy of winning is a very tough thing to explain to people. |
| 0:10.0 | It's a very tough emotion to really kind of verbalize. |
| 0:13.0 | But racing is such a fickle business, you know, all the cliches, you're only as good as your last race, whatever, whatever. |
| 0:20.0 | The fear of failure, the fear of failure, |
| 0:21.1 | the fear of never winning again was almost more of a motivator than feeling the winning |
| 0:25.7 | feeling, if that makes sense. |
| 0:28.5 | Motivated by that fear of never winning again, James Hinchcliff took six wins and 18 |
| 0:34.9 | podiums in Indyco. But perhaps his biggest challenge was returning to the racetrack after a near fatal crash. |
| 0:43.3 | I woke up from the accident, you know, I couldn't even speak. |
| 0:46.3 | I had to write it on pen and paper. |
| 0:48.3 | My third question was, when can I get back in the car? |
| 0:50.3 | You're so fearful of losing this thing you've worked so hard for. You've |
| 0:54.8 | sacrificed so much for your entire life. And so you immediately are like, I can get back in a car, |
| 1:00.0 | right? When can that happen? |
| 1:07.7 | It's 10 years since James's freak accident during practice for the 2015 Indy 500. |
| 1:14.8 | Here on F1 Beyond the Grid with me, Tom Clarkson. He tells us how he miraculously survived that |
| 1:21.8 | crash, why he lied to himself about what happened, and the emotions he felt when he took |
| 1:27.0 | pole at the very same |
| 1:28.6 | racetrack one year later. A huge fan of F1 from a young age and now offering his expert insight |
| 1:35.4 | as a pundit on F1 TV, James also tells us why he didn't try to become an F1 driver himself |
| 1:42.4 | and whether he thinks the United States needs an American on the grid. |
| 1:47.9 | Hinch is very articulate and interesting and his take on this year's world title fight between Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris is fascinating. |
... |
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