A very quick update today, just to run through a couple of announcements which have had me thinking that BBC viewers in 2012 won’t be so badly off after all (no, not the ridiculous announcement that the BBC have won an award for being best F1 broadcaster of the year - a consolation prize from Bernie Ecclestone if ever there was one).
Firstly, the excellent Ben Edwards has been confirmed as lead commentator for the BBC’s coverage, alongside the bland-but-inoffensive David Coulthard. Edwards has been doing sterling work on F1 season review DVDs and British domestic motorsport for years, so this is excellent news for all concerned (except anyone who was planning to boycott Formula 1 in favour of BTCC coverage next year I suppose).
The linked article also makes reference to Eddie Jordan continuing his role as pundit, but you can’t have it all. And to look on the bright side, this picture should remind you how bad we once had it (particularly the gurning buffoon on the right).
Sky have also announced their line-up in the last few days, with Anthony Davidson and David Croft joining Martin Brundle as commentators and Simon Lazenby (who?) fronting the coverage. Pit lane reports will be handled by Theodore Slotover (no really) and the hitherto-atrocious Natalie Pinkham, formerly of Radio Five Live and the beds of various celebrities. Georgie Thompson (recently done for drink driving, so there’s a positive message) will also do some presenting, or at least her interpretation of it, with Steve Rider given a job of sorts as some kind of F1-themed continuity announcer.
So on the whole, there’s a decent line-up of presenters spread over both channels but neither has a particularly great line-up on their own. For what’s its worth, if I was doing some kind of ‘Fantasy F1 Presenting Team’ competition I’d have Rider, Edwards, Brundle, Davidson, Coulthard, Kravitz/Slotover and at a push Lee McKenzie (although I'd consider Louise Goodman for a comeback) in my ensemble.
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Just in case you were starting to think this was a blog about TV coverage of F1 rather than the sport itself, a quick prod (again) towards the Pits Take 2011 F1 Season Review which will be published next week and promises to be at-least adequate* in every way. Think of it as a reward for all the non-British readers who've spent the last 6 months wondering who on earth Jake Humphrey is...
*assuming adequacy equates to length - five thousand words and counting!
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