Welcome to the third JA on F1 podcast in our 2013 series. This month we speak to a driver and a team boss, a technical director and the man at the centre of F1′s hottest debate of the moment.

Mercedes F1 CEO Toto Wolff tells us how many marks out of 10 he gives his team for their start to 2013, talks about Lewis Hamilton’s impact on the team and whether Ross Brawn is staying; we ask rising Toro Rosso star Daniel Ricciardo about his standout drive in China and his chances of getting a Red Bull seat; we explain and analyse the changes to the Pirelli tyre range with Paul Hembery in discussion with former Williams chief engineer and JA on F1 technical adviser Mark Gillan. We ask whether things have gone too far on the tyres’ effect on the racing. Gillan also looks ahead to the Spanish Grand Prix at Barcelona and talks about what updates we are likely to see on the F1 cars.

And when will one of F1′s new team score a point? We look at the challenges facing with Marussia technical director Pat Symonds in conversation with Holly Samos. He also looks ahead to what engine the team will use in 2014.

• In a packed edition we hear from the ever-popular Kimi Raikkonen, winner of the first race of the season, on what he thinks of his fans, what he does on his days off and that infamous radio call to “leave me alone” in Abu Dhabi.
• We get the inside track on Lotus’s sensational start to the season from to the man behind that famous win in Melbourne, Lotus technical director James Allison. He also explains what it is like to deal with the 2013 Pirelli tyres.
• We get the thoughts of Ferrari drivers Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa on what lies ahead in 2013 and Massa explains why he is right back on the pace.
• JA on F1 Technical adviser and Former Williams chief engineer Mark Gillan explains why McLaren’s problems may take some time to fix and gives us an expert opinion on the Red Bull spat as well as analysis of which teams are looking good this year.
• And we speak to the man behind F1 in Schools – an engineering challenge endorsed by Bernie Ecclestone and the F1 teams which is now reaching millions of children around the world.
  

Welcome to the first JA on F1 podcast of 2013. In this season build-up edition we have a packed podcast, as we head towards Melbourne:

• Mercedes set the pace as testing came to a close. But are they genuine contenders? And who is looking good? Former Williams chief engineer Mark Gillan, now JA on F1 Technical Adviser, analyses what we learned from the winter tests and runs the rule over the leading car and driver combinations.
• We’ll hear how Lewis Hamilton is settling into his new home at Mercedes
• And we catch up with the man who replaced Hamilton at McLaren, Sergio Perez. He tells us what his approach to the season will be.
• We pair up Mercedes’ Nick Fry with a top banking analyst in the automotive sector to discuss manufacturers in F1 and whether this is the right moment for Honda to re-enter F1. Fry also talks about the changes in the Mercedes F1 team.
• The tyres were the big talking point of last season – so what surprises will the 2013 models throw up this time? We speak to company president Marco Provera and to motorsport director Paul Hembery.
• Five major companies have come into F1 as sponsors this winter, what does this trend mean? Leading sponsor finder Zak Brown has the answers.