Damon Hill Becomes Sky Sports F1 Pundit

1996 Formula 1 World Champion, Damon Hill, has become the latest pundit for the new dedicated Sky Sports F1 HD channel which launches on 9th March. Hill joins fellow F1 drivers’ Martin Brundle and Anthony Davidson both of whom have switched from the BBC. 

Damon Hill began his F1 career with Brabham in 1992 and quickly become a household name in the mid-90s when he joined Williams and fought alongside Michael Schumacher, creating some of the most memorable moments of the 1990s. Damon Hill and Michael Schumacher had numerous comings together, most notably at the 1994 Australian Grand Prix where many believed Schumacher turned in on the Brit, causing himself to become Champion by default. 

In 1996 Hill was joined at Williams by reigning ChampCar Champion, Jacques Villeneuve, as the two became locked in a season-long Championship battle which ended at the Japanese Grand Prix when Villeneuve lost his right-rear wheel and Hill won the race. Damon Hill ended his career in 1999 with Jordan, and has commentated on numerous occasions for ITV’s coverage of F1 when Martin Brundle was absent as well as working on the F1 Digital+ channel 10 years ago.

Damon Hill will appear only at 10 of the 20 races of the 2012 season for Sky, those being the races in Australia, Bahrain, Monaco, Britain, Germany, Hungary, Belgium, India, USA and Brazil. With this announcement coming as a surprise from Sky, it is no question that their Sky Sports F1 team is getting stronger and stronger.  

James Allen Becomes BBC Radio 5 Live Commentator

Ex-ITV commentator James Allen has been announced as the new BBC Radio 5 Live lead commentator, replacing David Croft who last year was announced as the commentator for the new dedicated F1 channel Sky Sports F1 HD alongside former BBC colleagues Martin Brundle and Anthony Davidson.

James Allen took over from Murray Walker as ITV commentator in 2002, alongside Martin Brundle and was immediately under the spotlight by critics, some believing he was trying to sound too much like Murray Walker and that his enthusiasm sometimes got the better of him, especially when Jenson Button won his first ever Grand Prix at the 2006 Hungarian Grand Prix.

However, regardless of what the critics have said about him, no-one can deny that James Allen’s enthusiasm for Formula 1 is unmatched by any of todays journalists and commentators. In 2009 he became the Formula One Management World Feed Interviewer when he was asked to do so for the 2009 British Grand Prix in place of Peter Windsor, and he asked questions for the post-qualifying and post-race TV interviews. 

James Allen will continue writing for his website and will also continue his contributions to Australia’s Ten Sport F1 coverage. With the BBC loosing the majority of its major talent to Sky Sports for 2012, the BBC couldn’t have picked a more enthusiastic commentator to head their BBC Radio 5 Live coverage.

Ben Edwards Becomes BBC F1 Lead Commentator

Ben Edwards today announced on the social networking site Twitter that he will become the new BBC F1 Commentator, replacing Martin Brundle to commentate alongside David Coulthard in 2012. This comes after Martin Brundle switched to Sky for next season to front their commentary team alongside fellow ex-BBC commentators Anthony Davidson and David Croft.

Ben Edwards has recently been the British Touring Car Championship commentator for ITV and has also previously fronted EuroSport’s Formula 1 coverage alongside former F1 driver John Watson throughout the 1990s. Once EuroSport lost the rights to broadcast F1 at the end of 1996 he began commentating on ChampCar (CART) for EuroSport and ESPN International and had undeniably his finest moment during the final laps for the 2000 Michigan 500 where Juan Pablo Montoya and Michael Andretti crossed the line side-by-side with Ben Edwards literally screaming in both delight and shock at such an exciting and close finish.

In 2002 Ben became the Lead Commentator for Bernie Ecclestone’s F1 Digital+ channel which was pay-per-view through Sky TV and was partnered by former colleague from EuroSport John Watson. However due to an unsuccessful 2002 season, F1 Digital+ ceased to exist and three years later Ben Edwards became the Lead Commentator for the new A1 Grand Prix Series launched in 2005. 

Although there has been no official statement from the BBC pertaining to Ben Edwards joining the team, he did say this on Twitter: “So, it looks as though it’s really happening. I will be the BBC F1 commentator in 2012 and I can’t wait! It took a while for things to be sorted, and thanks to ITV for being so understanding. Really looking forward to working with the crew.”

With both Sky and the BBC signing two superb commentators it’s going to be difficult to decide which channel to watch next seasons races on. 

Sky Announce Full 2012 Line-Up

Sky have today announced their complete line-up of presenters, commentators and pit-lane reporters in preparation for their inaugural season covering Formula 1 in the UK. This comes after it was agreed earlier in the year that Sky and the BBC would share the rights to broadcast F1 in 2012 with Sky showing every track event throughout the season live with the BBC showing ten races live and the rest as a highlights show later in the day.

It was announced a few weeks back that Sky would be launching a standalone Formula 1 channel in the UK named Sky Sports F1 HD and that Martin Brundle would be joining the team from the BBC to commentate on next years proceedings. 

Today, however, Sky confirmed that David Croft would be joining the new team from BBC Radio 5 Live along with fellow commentator and ex-F1 driver Anthony Davidson to partner the already confirmed Martin Brundle. Davidson will commentate on the weekends Practice Sessions along with ‘Crofty’ recreating the famous commentary team that the BBC have used for the last three years on their Red Button Service.

  

It has also been announced that Sky have also acquired two more ex-BBC F1 staff in Natalie Pinkham and Ted Kravitz, who will continue their roles as pit-lane reporters with Sky. Ted Kravitz has also been announced as the co-presenter of the weekly magazine show which will be fronted by current Sky Sports News presenter Georgie Thompson. The presenter of the weekends F1 show will be Simon Lazenby, who has had experience in presenting Sky Sports Rugby coverage in the past.

  

Also announced as part of the new Sky Sports F1 HD team is the ex-BBC and ITV F1 presenter, Steve Rider, who has had experience presenting Formula 1 as part of the BBC’s Grandstand show in the 1990s and with ITV in the 2000s. His role within Sky will be to stage a series of interviews with some of Formula 1’s legends both past and present.

It is undeniable that Sky now have the most experienced team covering Formula 1 that has existed in the past. With three of the best commentators in the sport, two of the best pit-lane reporters and a superb presentation team, the new Sky Sports F1 HD channel looks well set for an impressive inaugural season!

Martin Brundle Officially Announces Move To Sky Sports

Former Formula 1 driver and current BBC Commentator, Martin Brundle, has today officially answered speculations about his 2012 plans by stating in his Sunday Times column that he will join the new Sky Sports F1 HD channel next season.

The former Tyrrell and McLaren driver first commentated on the sport at the 1989 Monaco Grand Prix when he retired from the race and was asked to join Murray Walker in the commentary box as James Hunt failed to appear. His next appearance as a commentator was partially throughout the 1995 season as he shared a drive at Ligier with Aguri Suzuki, however for 1996 he gained a full racing seat with Jordan and didn’t commentate again until 1997 when he officially joined ITV as co-commentator alongside the legendary Murray Walker.

He continued this role as co-commentator at ITV all though the channels running of the sport, which included commentating alongside James Allen once Murray had retired in 2001. When, in 2008, it was announced that BBC were set to get the rights back, Martin Brundle (along with Ted Kravitz) were part of the ITV team to move to the BBC for the 2009 season. For this season Brundle was once again co-commentator alongside Jonathan Legard, who was replaced in 2011 by another F1 driver in David Coulthard. This promoted Martin Brundle up to the lead commentator role, a role which the BBC must now try and replace, and rumors are circulating of Ben Edwards joining the team for 2012.

It has yet to be announced who will be joining Martin Brundle as Sky Sports F1 Commentator for 2012, however there are strong rumors that Sky have signed another BBC commentator (this time of Radio 5 Live origin) in David Croft. Whether this information is true or not time will tell.

Martin Brundle said in his Sunday Times column that the key factor for him joining Sky was his need to commentate on all 20 live races, not delayed broadcasts. Another key factor, he said, was the fact that Sky will not show any adverts during the race, something which the British public grew frustrated over with the ITV broadcasts between 1997 – 2008.

Many BBC fans will greatly miss him, many will simply migrate with him to Sky. Whatever the outcome, it is undeniable that Sky have secured simply the best commentator there currently is for their 2012 Formula 1 coverage.

Martin Brundle Off To Sky Sports For 2012?

Next year the broadcasting of Formula 1 in the United kingdom changes as the BBC will co-broadcast F1 alongside major sporting TV company Sky Sports. Sky have almost monopolized sport over the last decade as popular sports such as Football, Cricket and Golf have made Sky their new home and as of 2012, Formula 1 will be added to the growing list of sports covered by the company.

The BBC will still broadcast F1 next year as they plan to show 10 races live and the other 10 in a delayed highlights format that has yet to be announced whereas Sky Sports will show all 20 races live next year including all three Practice Sessions and Qualifying.

The highlight of this slightly controversial decision has now switched to who Sky Sports will sign up as their presenters, commentators and pit lane reporters. It has been highly speculated over the last few months that former ITV and current BBC commentator, Martin Brundle, is in talks with both companies over his future with the sport. He has tweeted saying that he has received offers from both companies and that he will be taking the weekend to decide on his future.

If Martin Brundle does join Sky Sports, how will that affect the BBC F1 Team, who have produced some of the best F1 coverage the sport has ever seen in their long and colorful years covering the sport, their first race coverage being the 1978 Canadian Grand Prix which was won by local hero Gilles Villeneuve and featured commentary from Murray Walker before being joined a year later by former World Champion James Hunt. Will the BBC take the offer of using Sky’s commentary, an opportunity that must be offered to them as part of the deal with Sky or will they continue with their own commentary minus probably the only true heir to Murray Walker’s throne in Martin Brundle? If this decision is taken it is understood that David Coulthard will be joined by Speed TV’s Australian commentator Leigh Diffey. If Martin Brundle does join Sky it is believed he will be joined by current colleague and BBC Radio 5 Live commentator David Croft who is renowned for his colorful and sometimes explosive commentating style. 

It is also understood that Sky are keen to have ex ITV and current BBC pit lane reporter Ted Kravitz and current ITV Sports presenter (and ex BBC and ITV F1 presenter) Steve Rider on their team, meaning that if this does become a reality that the BBC F1 Team will also be a pit lane reporter down, leaving only Lee McKenzie and Natalie Pinkham remaining.

Of course there are two races remaining in 2011, and there is a whole winter off season in which these various contracts will be flying ever other way before Sky can reveal their 2012 F1 Team Line-Up.