The BBC F1 coverage thread (Legard out. Brundle and DC in.)

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Just watching the live qualifying on the BBC. The opening was superb - using The Chain was absolutely the right decision 👍
 
BBC reporters aren't exactly impressing. There's been plenty of mistakes and the qualifying has just been referred to as the qualifying for the australian formeler lon grand prix :lol:

and out of nowhere the Renaults seem pretty darn fast...
 
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I didnt think it was that bad, it certainly hasnt made me miss Blundell or Allen. Jordan and Coulthard were probably the most questionable of them all but its stil better than ITV so far.
 
^^:lol: sounded like flomira lon at the beginning there.

Jonathan Legard reminds me of a horse racing commentator at times, hope I get used to it. Great to hear Brundle on the beeb.

Anyway, fantastic quali. So pleased for Brawn, Jenson and Rubens. Also Vettel, I was hoping he wouldn't get lost in the shake up this season.

I just hope we get lap times during the race like we used to on the BBC instead of waiting for commentators to tell us. It gives me a sense of what's going on and who's starting to gain etc.

Here's the new intro.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/motorsport/formula_one/7969481.stm
 
Have to say, I like this new lineup, and not simply because they're so fixated on Hamilton. James Allen always struck me as being something of a couch coach, a guy who is a self-roclaimed expert on what is going on simply because he has tuned in to more races than John Q. Citizen. But Jonathan Levinson - when he can get a word in - strikes me as being a 'proper' commentator, as if he has a university degree on the subject. Maybe that's because he only ever talks about something happening off-camera to fill new viewers in as opposed to nattering on about Hamilton when we're watching one of the Force Indias retire or a battle between Massa and Kovalainen. I guess I'm trying to say that Levinson is not simply informed about the subject, but he's also professional. And that seems to have rubbed off on Brundle a little, and we're seeing more of the former racer in him than before. Maybe it's just me, but Brundle always came across as very impressionable as a commentator, as if the personality and style of his co-commentator was rubbing off on him. We saw it when he instantly decided Alonso had brake-checked Hamilton at Bahrain last year, but today he was talking about how Vettel was running scrubbed tyres in one of the sessions and what that might mean for his laptimes.
 
Quite impressed, but something tells me that we might be in for a whole load of "Button" this year...
 
I wasn't a fan of Jonathan Legard's commentary... he seemed pretty amateur, and almost over-the-top (forced) enthusiasm, like he was trying too hard to make it exciting. He almost burst when Button was going for pole. Brundle's great though, glad he stayed.
 
Obli
I wasn't a fan of Jonathan Legard's commentary... he seemed pretty amateur, and almost over-the-top (forced) enthusiasm, like he was trying too hard to make it exciting. He almost burst when Button was going for pole. Brundle's great though, glad he stayed.
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I think it shows he cares, especially his mistakes which sounded like he was nervous.

To be fair to Legard, he is normally used to radio commentary and he needs some time to gel with Brundle, just as Allen did and Brundle and Palmer when they started.
He's at least far far better than Allen.

Eddie Jordan was a bit too aggressive perhaps though and he didn't seem to work well with Coulthard.
Humphrey exceeded expectations, very good from him. Coulthard, Brundle and Kravitz were all great as per usual.

I didn't like the cutting short the post race conference to see them rubbing EJ and Branson together.....not good. But otherwise way better coverage than ITV and a lot less annoying and a better sense of balance in terms of talking about whats going on rather than Hamilton and Hamilton.
 
To make sure I don't miss anything, should I move my alarm clock forward 1 hour and then set the alarm?
 
PeterJB
To make sure I don't miss anything, should I move my alarm clock forward 1 hour and then set the alarm?
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Yes, I set mine an hour forward at 5.30 (because I like to watch the race build up, especially with all this behind the scenes stuff going on, its nice to keep up to date).
 
Nah, my clock now reads 10:58. Alarm set for 10mins before the race starts. So, hopefully that's a 7 hour sleep...
 
I thought the commentary was quite good in my half-awake state.

A tad hesitant and forced at times, but it was good content I felt. Though there was one "burst" of excitement that I remember, just for got when it happened.
 
ExigeEvan
I thought the commentary was quite good in my half-awake state.

A tad hesitant and forced at times, but it was good content I felt. Though there was one "burst" of excitement that I remember, just for got when it happened.
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Do you have Freeview? If so, you can listen to the Radio 5 live team as an alternative commentary by pressing the red button.
 
As good as Davidson and Croft are, I don't mind Legard and Brundle, they still need time to gel but otherwise pretty good. The odd mistake here and there, the odd forgetting of certain events, but nothing horrible akin to Allen shouting at me about the latest Hamilton news or rattling on about rubbish like Mclaren engineers being code-breakers in WW2.

Overall, the coverage comes across as a lot more professional and not as cheesy or as shouty as ITV. The only dark mark is Eddie Jordan, sometimes hes good sometimes hes not, he doesn't seem to work well with Coulthard and Humphrey and has a tendencey to go on and on too much.
 
Tired Tyres
Do you have Freeview? If so, you can listen to the Radio 5 live team as an alternative commentary by pressing the red button.
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In the living room yes, by I was still in bed this morning with my bog standard portable TV.

I'll have a good mess about with the red-button extras when there's a daytime race.
 
Really enjoyed the coverage this morning.

Brundle caught the moment well when Button was coming up to the first corner after the long saftey car moment with cold tyres tip toeing around with the whole pack bearing down.

Good moment after the race with Brawn, Button and Rubens talking to each other and Rubens joking with Brawn "Slow down" "Slow down".

Also like the extra show with the red button. Managed to see Vettel taking to BMW afterwards and good pretty good analysis from DC, Brundle etc. Brundle and Eddie were saying they thought Vettel was a little too apologetic and showing weakness and perhaps undermining future incidents but DC was saying he admired Vettel and pointed to future moves and friends at BMW.

ITV didn't use their other channels as far as I know, just repeating quali before the race but use them a lot for rubbish like the brits, xfactor whatever after shows.

The only problem when you bring DC and Eddie Jordan in is you kind of have to use them. The build up has too much talking and repeating the same old things with pointless questions aimed by the presenter. BBC do this with the Olympics and Tennis (not that I really watch it) with americans brought over and former english sportsman talking needlessly for an hour while they could be showing other matches or events. It could be worse though if they give Tony Jardine a call.

Anyway, looking forward to more lengthy coverage by the BBC with no adverts.👍
 
Why is it that funny? It's no different than "Safety-car on track, watch out for debris". It's a standard command - a driver has to be within 20% of a set laptime when the safety-car is out, and there's a penalty otherwise... Rubens was going over that limit, so he had to slow down - and was told to do so.
 
Metar
Why is it that funny? It's no different than "Safety-car on track, watch out for debris". It's a standard command - a driver has to be within 20% of a set laptime when the safety-car is out, and there's a penalty otherwise... Rubens was going over that limit, so he had to slow down - and was told to do so.
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It was just amusing to hear Ross Brawn shouting over the radio for a change rather than amusing to hear him being told to slow down.
 
Interestingly, I just heard that Perry McCarthy (!) was doing the CBBC coverage and was explaining the science behind F1 very well in simple terms, etc. Of all the people, that is pretty awesome.

Pity my red button didn't work, I'll have to look for this next time!
 
Sureboss
He wasn't joking, Chronos!
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No I was talking about after the race when Rubens went over to Ross and said to him "Slow down" in a jokingly manner, kinda making fun of Ross and they both had a laugh about it. They looked a close team with good comradery.
 
Heheh, I just realied that I've been calling Jonathan Legard Jonathan Levinson ... who was a character in Buffy the Vampire Slayer, of all things.

Not sure why I did that ...
 
This is especially awesome - Q&A with Murray, we post comments for questions that he will try to answer each Monday after each GP.
I love his answer to the last question! :lol:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/murraywalker/2009/04/your_questions_answered_week_1.html

Just to make it clear, the questions have already been asked, so if you want to post new questions, you'll have to wait till next Monday, just keep tabs on the BBC F1 front page.
Also - this video is available to people outside the UK!
 
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No idea. I don't remember hearing that voice before. Perhaps he's a foreign correspondent roped it to do a voice over?
 

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