BEYOND THE GRID: Alpine tech chief Pat Fry on 35 years at the top of F1

The latest Beyond The Grid podcast welcomes Pat Fry, Alpine's Chief Technical Officer, who has worked with the likes of Benetton, McLaren and Ferrari – and Ayrton Senna, Mika Hakkinen and Lewis Hamilton – with over 35 years of experience in Formula 1.

In the latest episode of Beyond The Grid, Fry opens up to host Tom Clarkson about the challenges of F1’s new 2022 rules, reveals the idiosyncrasies of the likes of Senna and Michael Schumacher, and tells tales of other tough drivers – and even tougher team bosses!

Having joined Formula 1 in 1987 as part of Benetton's R&D department, before becoming Martin Brundle's race engineer, Fry would go on to spend 17 years with McLaren from 1993 and become part of their 66 Grands Prix wins in that time, as well as three drivers' titles and a constructors' championship.

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Then Ferrari beckoned in 2010, Fry taking senior technical roles at the Scuderia, before he joined Manor, had a temporary role at McLaren in 2018, and joined Renault as Chassis Technical Director – before becoming the re-branded squad's Chief Technical Officer.

Still racing as hard as ever, Fry's goal now is to take Alpine back to the very top of F1.

Listen to the fascinating episode of Beyond The Grid in the player above – or tune in via your preferred podcast provider.

Find more episodes of Beyond The Grid here – including interviews with the likes of Carlos Sainz, Kimi Raikkonen, Lando Norris and Charles Leclerc.