Lee McKenzie talks to Chris Evans about the world of F1 and her new 'behind-the-scenes' book

Virgin Radio

3 Oct 2022, 11:02

Broadcast journalist Lee McKenzie joined the Chris Evans Breakfast Show with Sky this morning to talk all things Formula One and about her new book, Inside F1.

From a young age, McKenzie has watched and loved motorsport.

She spent the majority of her teenage years in the paddock and worked her way up to become one of the country’s most respected Formula One journalists and presenters, covering some of the biggest news events in the sport in recent years.

Her new book, Inside F1, covers seven stars in the sport with a unique insight into the highs, lows and controversies of their careers and takes a deep dive behind the scenes of one of the biggest sports in the world.

Speaking to Chris about her introduction into the world of F1 and sports journalism, she recalled: “My father was a Fleet Street journalist, and I was the annoying child that turned up everywhere. I mean, I was barely at school, and I think I’d covered most major sports events by the age of 12.

“It meant my education was not great, but I had a very wide sporting knowledge. I remember I suddenly looked around and I thought, ‘People get paid to do this. This is incredible.”

McKenzie started off as a rugby journalist for a national newspaper after finishing uni and it was only by chance that she went into broadcasting at the age of 19, which eventually led her to working in motorsport.

She explained: “I didn’t start in Formula One, I was doing GP2 and Lewis Hamilton was just starting out at that level. We occasionally shared a hire car because I was also doing some PR for a couple of racing drivers as well.

“It just evolved like that, and you still had to earn your stripes, the same as the drivers- you had to work your way up to get into Formula One and I think that’s really powerful as well because you’ve been there at the start.”

The presenter’s early introduction into the world of motorsport is what helped her spark friendships with some of the world’s most successful F1 drivers, and her book will provide a unique insight into their careers.

One of those included in the book is Lewis Hamilton, who McKenzie feels can be a “polarising character”.

She explained: “people either love him or loathe him. You know, I actually think he's probably more true now to the person he was when he was 16 or 17. As he says in interviews and in the book, he talks about how he felt that he had to fit in, so he dressed like a Formula One driver, and he, you know, changed his hair.

“He tried to just sort of become a little bit more dull, less him, and I think the Lewis that we're seeing is actually much truer to himself than he has been maybe for the last 10 years.”

Another big F1 star that McKenzie covers in the book is Fernando Alonso and she told Chris about how his story inspired Inside F1.

She continued: “I love Fernando Alonso. I mean, he's got himself into some interesting situations over his career and he is like eight points away from being a five-time world champion.

“He's a two-time world champion and it's easy for people to forget that. He has dragged around so many underperforming cars and one of the reasons I wrote this book is because people forget all this. They forget the stories and forget the fact that in 2005 and 2006, he was a back-to-back world champion with the world of Formula One at his feet and no one would have thought at that time that he wouldn't win another championship.”

Inside F1 is out on Thursday 5th October.

For more great interviews listen to  The Chris Evans Breakfast Show with Sky, weekdays from 6:30am on Virgin Radio, or  catch up on-demand here.