BEYOND THE GRID: Meet Adrian Reynard – a founding father of Brawn GP and Mercedes

Adrian Reynard’s motor racing outfit were one of the best in the world during the 1980s and ‘90s – winning multiple championships across Formula 3000, Formula 3 and IndyCar.

Reynard Racing Cars also held an impressive record of winning the first race of every major single-seater competition they entered.

When Adrian helped create the British American Racing F1 team in 1999, expectations were high, but that previous success didn’t quite translate in the pinnacle of motorsport.

Speaking to Beyond The Grid podcast host Tom Clarkson, Adrian tells the fascinating story of BAR – how the team was formed with 1997 World Champion Jacques Villeneuve, why a big falling out with Team Principal Craig Pollock led to Adrian resigning, and how he helped lay the foundations for that team to later become World Champions as Brawn GP and then Mercedes.

Adrian reflects on his F1 ventures before BAR as well – including a failed attempt to create his own team in 1990, despite selling his house to fund it, and his experiences with March F1 as a 29-year-old Technical Director in the 1980s.

Adrian also talks about inspiring legendary engineers like Rory Byrne and Pat Symonds, why he had an up-and-down relationship with the late Eddie Jordan, and the small part he played in the car that Michael Schumacher won his first F1 race in.

To listen to this week’s episode, simply hit go on the audio player above or click here to listen via your preferred podcasting platform.

You can also check out a huge selection of previous episodes – spanning every decade of F1 – in our dedicated Beyond The Grid library here.