The race is on, but don't adjust the settings on your podcast listening platform of choice

because you're not hearing a distorted version of Ed Strauss voice.

It's Scott Mitchell and this is how I actually sound.

I've dethroned Ed for a special edition of the Race F1 podcast to Mark Mercedes 7th Constructors title and 100th win in the V6 Turbo Hybrid era. We'll be exploring the fascinating story of how this powerhouse came to be with insight from Engine Guru Andy Cowell, Chief designer John Owen, and the recollections of Ed Straw and Mark Hughes who were on the ground and telling the story as it happened. Ed, I was going to say welcome, but that would be a little bit like welcoming you into your own home, wouldn't it? How are you feeling about being on the receiving end of the questions for a change? Well, I'm liking the fact that I can kind of sit back, relax and let you do all the work, but I'm a little bit worried to extend that house metaphor that you're going to end up burning it down. So I'll be relaxing with just 5% of my brain keeping an eye on you, not blundering. But the pressure really is on you this time. Yeah, don't worry. Anything involving me should always be treated with at least mild trepidation. So you don't have to feel too bad. Being worried about what exactly I'm going to do to your precious podcast. But my other guest is the foremost

F1 journalist amongst the race's rag tag trio, Mark Hughes. Mark, what's more exciting,

waiting for your first site of F1's new V6 turbo hybrid era in 2014 or appearing on a podcast hosted

by me? Most foremost, you mean oldest. I'm definitely the oldest. You're the youngest, Ed's the

heaviest.

Yeah, I think probably seeing the cars for the first time, to be honest.

Yeah.

I saw them inaction first time FP1, Albert Park.

And it seemed to be in such a long time coming in these cars because it'd been

argued about, well, it it'd been argued about,

well, it was still being argued about, argued about, the Australian promoter was saying

he'd paid for the F1 noise and wasn't getting what he'd paid for.

For so long, with the FIA insisting on pushing this concept through against the wishes,

significant numbers of the teams, especially Red Bull.

Then Ferrari had insisted on the concept being modified, adding more cylinders,

so they'd been postponed and argued over, but now, yeah, they were at last in the metal,

these radical new era cars, and it had the excitement of the new,

even if the actual sounds were more intriguing than exciting.

Yeah, and that sort of long gestation period for these,

...