A Formula 1 expert from Essex has talked about his latest predictions, Ferrari’s disastrous start into the season and his book explaining a path to a championship win for the Italian team.
Nate Saunders, 35, grew up in Greenstead and went to the Colchester Sixth Form before enrolling for a history degree at the University of Reading.
During his school year, he laid the foundation of his career, writing down made up match reports on school notepads.
He said: “My way into sports journalism was quite unorthodox, really. I didn’t study a degree in journalism.
“When I was at university, I started to write for some newspapers and then did my NCTJ qualifications. In 2013, I began to freelance and later joined ESPN as a freelance writer.”
Since then, Nate has become one of the top F1 journalists with the sport giant.
Focusing on motorsport has always been a dream for him, as he was introduced to racing as a child.
“Formula 1 was always a dream job,” he said. “I went to see the 2006 race in Monza with my dad, and then another one in Imola.
“It just seemed like something unobtainable.”
Now, he is not only an expert in the field with ten years of experience writing about the high-speed races, but also an established author.
At the beginning of March, his second book Forza Ferrari: How F1’s Most Famous Team Can Win Again hit the market.
Through 272 pages, Nate explores the history of the famous racing team, to which he has a sentimental attachment.
He said: “My last name might not show it, but I have an Italian heritage. I grew up supporting Ferrari and followed them for a long time.
“The book came about as I’ve been talking to friends who asked me ‘why can’t Ferrari win a championship?’ and over the years fans have asked the same question."
When the book was pitched to publishers, Ferrari’s announcement to welcome racing sensation Lewis Hamilton added good fortune to the proposal.
Despite a blueprint for Ferrari now existing in writing, the actual start of the season has been rather disappointing, as Nate describes it.
He said: “The first races have been frustrating. Some people say, Lewis already had the whole Ferrari experience.
“I spoke to people at Ferrari, who say his arrival there was like the Pope coming to Rome. But still he has had to experience the difficulties within the team, from frustrated engineer calls and disappointing results.”
With McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri starting off strong, Nate predicts the drivers in orange will continue to lead the championship.
But he thinks Audi’s and Cadillac's arrival for the 2026 season will make it even more unpredictable.
Over the years, the spotlight on Formula 1 has increased, especially since the launch of the Netflix hit series Formula 1 Drive to Survive in 2019, which changed especially the fan world.
“It’s been a difference like day and night,” Nate said.
“The sport and especially the fans have become a lot younger, and there are a lot more female fans.
“I think the [Netflix] show is very selective in the editing and which scenes are being shown, and some drivers are not happy with the way they are being portrayed.
“For example, in the beginnings of the show, Max Verstappen was portrayed like a villan, and he has distanced himself from that.
“But generally, it has opened up the sport to a much wider audience, and I think gaining these knowledgeable fanbase outweighs the negatives of the show.”
Being a fan of the sport and the athletes himself, it sometimes still feels surreal to him, even after a decade in the industry.
Nate said: “Of course there are days when you wish you had a different job, when you’re in a hotel room again, and the days in Formula 1 are very long, you start early and finish late.
“But you get to work in this incredible world. There is a 30-minute window before the races, when I even get a chance to go on the grid, even though I’m not working for TV, but it is incredible to just be there before the start.”
His contact book now includes household names such as Daniel Ricciardo and Guenther Steiner.
He said: “I got a call from a member of Red Bull, who told me off the record about the swap of Liam Lawson and Yuki Tsunoda.
“It is having those contacts and having those off the record talks, and honouring them, that has helped me to get where I am now.
“Working for ESPN has given me a leg up, but it also feels like we’re held to a higher standard.”
In the fast-paced world of Formula 1, change has arrived, with its fans, and in the paddock.
Whether Nate’s roadmap to success or Hamilton’s experience is the answer to Ferrari yearning for a title, and whether Nate will be proved wrong in his prediction for the 2025 World Champion, will be answered within the next 21 races, starting with the Japanese Grand Prix in Suzuka on April 6.
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