New BBC F1 commentary line up - your thoughts?

bbability

I for one am dissapointed with the change. It's like theres something missing... Like a commentator. It sounds like two co-commentators in the box all weekend. Will they keep it like that all season or make a change

amacachi

Howso exactly? That it's missing the guy who just reads what's on the screen? :pac:

I'm loving it tbh, not as good as it could be yet but still decent.

smooch71

bbability wrote: »

I for one am dissapointed with the change. It's like theres something missing... Like a commentator. It sounds like two co-commentators in the box all weekend. Will they keep it like that all season or make a change

Much as I hated Legard and like Brundle, I have to agree with you. I get the impression Brundle is outside his comfort zone and he's trying too hard.

They won't change the line up but I think they need as proper commentator (Ben Edwards in other words) with Brundle back in his familiar back up role.

But having said that, Brundle was a bit wooden when he did his first few commentaries with ITV in 97 but to be fair to him he soon settled into the role and made it his own. Maybe he'll do the same as the lead commentator. We won't write the new pairing off just yet.

Slutmonkey57b

They didn't have a commentator before this, they had a tedious statto droning out figures AND OCCASIONALLY SHOUTING FOR NO REASON then getting confused and wandering off.

Brundle and Coulthard is an improvement, but it's still a tad dull. On the other hand they'll improve, unlike Legard.

Croft and Ant are still the #1 team though.

smooch71

Slutmonkey57b wrote: »

Croft and Ant are still the #1 team though.

Yeah, you're right. Croft and Brundle would make a good pairing I reckon. Put DC back at what he's good at. Slagging EJ off.

amacachi

Slutmonkey57b wrote: »

They didn't have a commentator before this, they had a tedious statto droning out figures AND OCCASIONALLY SHOUTING FOR NO REASON then getting confused and wandering off.

mumble FROM mumble FROM mumble FROM...

Can we get a Legard ban on this forum? :P

TheChrisD

I really don't care, no more boring monotonous "always-stating-the-bleeding-obvious" Legard!

johnnysmack

No matter what the sport commentary teams need to be a layman and an expert not two experts. Its a formula that works so ditch coulthard and get in a proper commentator and let brundle go back to the expert role.

G-Money

I much prefer Brundle and Coulthard than Legard and Brundle. I didn't think I'd be keen on Coulthard but it actually seemed to work well.

mickdw

Brundle not perfect as the main commentator but its still quite good and all the stupid stuff is now gone anyway.
How many times did legard excitedly interupt brundle last year about someone making an overtaking move when a 3 year old child could tell the move was just an attempt to unsettle the front driver and there was no real possibility of overtaking.

Lordhumphreys

Although not the biggest fan of Coulthard, he is light year's ahead of Legard! I also like that both comentators have actually competed extensively in F1, rather than someone who just has read a lot about it over the years

EvilMonkey

G-Money wrote: »

I much prefer Brundle and Coulthard than Legard and Brundle. I didn't think I'd be keen on Coulthard but it actually seemed to work well.

That's because he stayed quiet until Brundle asked him something

Myrddin

Found myself constantly losing attention in what DC was saying, at least Legard kept us on our toes (correcting mistakes etc)! DC quite frankly bores the arse off me. Not to mention his smug, pompus attitude!

aphex™

Switched to 5Live as I could hear what they were saying better.

Vinny-Chase

I think Brundle will just need a few races to settle into the role, it was his first face as lead commentator.

thegoth

This combo deserves a chance but I was not impressed by the weekends performance.

Crofty and Brundle would be a much better combo IMHO or even better Crofty and Davidson

Vinny-Chase

No matter what, I would never get rid of Brundle. Is he still DC's manager? Wonder does he get a cut of what ever DC gets in the commentary box

ratedR

Slutmonkey57b wrote: »

They didn't have a commentator before this, they had a tedious statto droning out figures AND OCCASIONALLY SHOUTING FOR NO REASON then getting confused and wandering off.

Brundle and Coulthard is an improvement, but it's still a tad dull. On the other hand they'll improve, unlike Legard.

Croft and Ant are still the #1 team though.

You sir, know what you're talking about. I can't add anything to this as it's spot on.

StephenHendry

<P> </P>
<P> </P>
<P>i didnt really mind legard.  DC and brundle are quite good, they didn't make any major gaffes throughout the quite. </P>
<P> </P>
<P>i think it will take brundle a while to get used to being lead commentator. i noticed that setanta don't have their own commentary team , no anderson or declan quigley, or kennedy. i thought setanta commentators were good , </P>

kaizersoze

As much as I like Brundle I thought he was out of his depth as lead commentator and Coulthard was a f*uckin bore.:(

For the first time I switched to 5Live.

Vinny-Chase

He admitted himself on Twitter "could do better". I'd say just give him a chance to adjust.

kaizersoze

Vinny-Chase wrote: »

He admitted himself on Twitter "could do better". I'd say just give him a chance to adjust.

I'm sure Brundle will improve but Coulthard would need a personality transplant to improve. He's a arrogant bore and always will be I'm afraid.

54kroc

The only downside to the new line up is we get more Eddie Jordan.

Myrddin

cork45 wrote: »

The only downside to the new line up is we get more Eddie Jordan.

I like EJ, he says it like it is. If you want corporate bs, or pompus comments then by all means listen to DC

IM0

James Allen gets more appealing every year..

Two experts dont work as brundle and coulthard showed
wooden, they were ok, but you need someone with genuine excitement in there, not two guys who know when and when not to get excited from experience.

Myrddin

LIGHTNING wrote: »

Problem is that he really likes the sound of his own voice.

& DC doesn't??

The difference is Eddie for all intents & purposes comes across as a polite & likeable chap. I can't say the same re the above.

smooch71

LIGHTNING wrote: »

How on earth can you like James Alllen, granted he knows his stuff but he is an unsufferable git.

Ain't that the truth....

the culture of deference

As I huge fan I love the BBC coverage.

Brundle is great, calls it as he sees it, EJ could say anything, DC is a true expert. The access they have is extraordinary.

I watch all the practise sessions too and that coverage is fantastic for a true fan. The forum is great too, very relaxed and cosy.

Remeber back to ITV days when the race coverage ended for cornation street.

These guys are worth 50 to 60 million each, they really love the sport.

AugustusMinimus

the culture of deference wrote: »

As I huge fan I love the BBC coverage.

Brundle is great, calls it as he sees it, EJ could say anything, DC is a true expert. The access they have is extraordinary.

I watch all the practise sessions too and that coverage is fantastic for a true fan. The forum is great too, very relaxed and cosy.

Remeber back to ITV days when the race coverage ended for cornation street.

These guys are worth 50 to 60 million each, they really love the sport.

DC is a clown of the highest order who got taken to cleaners by Niki Lauda of all people on the issue of the boost button back in the 1980's.

It's bad enough when you have the likes of Jordan and Lauda (who does nothing but moan) making a fool of you.


I'd much prefer to have Ben Collins in the commentary box alongside Brundle and leave Mr Next Year downstairs to have pops off of Eddie Jordan to snide remarks.


What is never remembered at this stage is what ITV actually did for F1 in 1997. The BBC's coverage before this was quite poor. ITV actually brought it on leaps and bounds. An hour before the race, at least half an hour afterwards. A studio where people were interviewed before the race and a half decent pundit line up with Jardine and Simon Taylor. They were indeed heady days.

The loss of Murray and putting Allen in the commentary box is when it started to go wrong. Taylor was mysteriously dumped for the 98 season too. Then we had one of the oddest moves ever. The hiring of Mark Blundell alongside Jardine and then the sacking of Jardine to leave Blundell as the sole pundit. Stever Ryder I actually found worse than Rosenthal and things were just about as bad as things could get.

All in all though, the last 4 laps of the 2005 San Marino GP took the biscuit. To take a 4 minutes break within the last 4 laps was just about as bad as it got. It was actually worse than not showing the 2000 USGP live.

AugustusMinimus

EnterNow wrote: »

& DC doesn't??

The difference is Eddie for all intents & purposes comes across as a polite & likeable chap. I can't say the same re the above.

The more and more I hear from the two, EJ comes across as a very passionate man, sometimes displaying too much passion. He gets things wrong, sometimes a lot but he's honest.

The more and more I see of Coulthard, the more I dislike him. Constantly moaning and whining at McLaren. He was a bitter man after the 98 season considering Coulthard was outperforming Hakinen at McLaren previously. The excuses were insufferable though. Next year was going to be his year. On BBC, he comes across as an ignorant pr**k. Rubbishes EJ opinion half the time and likes to stick in snide remarks about EJ. Does DC realise that EJ wasn't a half bad driver himself back in the day ?

RayM

AugustusMinimus wrote:

Next year was going to be his year.

F1 Racing magazine specialised in this sort of nonsense...

Despite having (by far) the most competitive car, DC scored a solitary victory in 1998

Hot on the heels of being trounced 8-1 by Hakkinen, the Flying Scot insisted that 1999 would be his year. He finished a distant fourth.

In 2000, a bullish Coulthard (hilariously) claimed that he was ready to beat Schumacher. Alas, he still couldn't beat Hakkinen.

In 2001, a presumably terrified Schumacher hid his fear by scoring almost twice as many points as Coulthard, who finally finished ahead of (a very tired) Hakkinen.

By 2002, a slight element of doubt over Coulthard's greatness had begun to emerge.

frostie500

I may be one of the few but I liked the DC and Brundle pairing in Melbourne, its clear that they have room for improvement but there was a lot of positives.

Even before Hamilton had touched the grass DC had noticed that the floor was broken which was incredible attention to detail from him and while I can easily understand why people dont like him, the constant Red Bull talk last season, but in Melbourne I thought he kept a lid on things and did a very good job for a first attempt.

All in all im cautiously optimsitic about their partnership. I love Brundle as a commentator and analyst of F1 and view him as being probably the best I've ever seen/read in this role so I'm delighted to see him take on a larger role and DC could be quite good. It is exceptionally difficult to find a perfect partnership but this could be one of the better ones as DC and MB get more accustomed to their new roles

Slutmonkey57b

From the bits I heard, they were good this weekend, but Ant was back so it was Crofty and Ant on the Red Button for me again.

AugustusMinimus

frostie500 wrote: »

I may be one of the few but I liked the DC and Brundle pairing in Melbourne, its clear that they have room for improvement but there was a lot of positives.

Even before Hamilton had touched the grass DC had noticed that the floor was broken which was incredible attention to detail from him and while I can easily understand why people dont like him, the constant Red Bull talk last season, but in Melbourne I thought he kept a lid on things and did a very good job for a first attempt.

All in all im cautiously optimsitic about their partnership. I love Brundle as a commentator and analyst of F1 and view him as being probably the best I've ever seen/read in this role so I'm delighted to see him take on a larger role and DC could be quite good. It is exceptionally difficult to find a perfect partnership but this could be one of the better ones as DC and MB get more accustomed to their new roles

The one thing they have is a bit of chemistry as they've known each other for quite some time. Brundle was Coulthard's agent for years.

Pauleta

It was a lot more natural today than the last race. Which is remarkable considering its only the 2nd race. I think this team has a big future. Coulthard's knowledge is invaluable, especially his knowledge on the Red Bull team. There is realistically nobody else who could give a better insight on the team during a race more than him.

the culture of deference

RayM wrote: »

F1 Racing magazine specialised in this sort of nonsense...

Despite having (by far) the most competitive car, DC scored a solitary victory in 1998

Hot on the heels of being trounced 8-1 by Hakkinen, the Flying Scot insisted that 1999 would be his year. He finished a distant fourth.

In 2000, a bullish Coulthard (hilariously) claimed that he was ready to beat Schumacher. Alas, he still couldn't beat Hakkinen.

In 2001, a presumably terrified Schumacher hid his fear by scoring almost twice as many points as Coulthard, who finally finished ahead of (a very tired) Hakkinen.

By 2002, a slight element of doubt over Coulthard's greatness had begun to emerge.

I disliked DC for many years, then he caused MS the 98 champ with his backing off on the racing line in SPA, it tokk me until Monaco and his cape that I relaxed a bit on him.

My favourite bit from his racing career is when he went off on the outlap to the grid for the start of the race.
Every team mate he had before red bull won a championship in the same car.

Sparks43

the culture of deference wrote: »

.
Every team mate he had before red bull won a championship in the same car.

Kimi won the title with Ferrari m8

the culture of deference

Sparks43 wrote: »

Kimi won the title with Ferrari m8

I am talking about 2003 season

ratedR

Anything to be said for them getting Karun Chandhok in there eventually ?
He's very at ease in front of the cameras and on 5live with Crofty. Think he's done a bit of work on TV in India before. Obviously knows both the history of the sport and the modern sport very well, but is young enough and still so passionate about the sport that he can allow himself to get excicted by things.

EJ is grand. He makes a few against the grain remarks from time to time, the biggest problem he has is talking verbal diarrhoea. He tries to use big words and clever phrases but trips over them. He should just keep it simple.
In the light of all the new teams struggling, you have to admire how he came into the sport on a budget, and was scoring points almost straight away. In a time when only the top 6 places could score. His ability to bring in big sponsors, and also his knack for discovering drivers. How many well known names and race winners got thier start at Jordan ? He's very much a people person and I bet he has a fair bit to do with how friendly the BBC team have gotten to quite a lot of the teams and drivers in such a short period of time. ITV never had the variety of guests and inpromptu interviews that BBC now gets. Especially if you watch the forum.

No doubt DC also helps here too. To get access in the Red Bull garage right after wins is great. Think back to the swimming pool in Monaco last year after Webber won. I would imagine the only reason they let a camera crew in there was because of DC.

BBC are onto a good thing in terms of access to people/places with the line up they have, they would be foolish to change it and they know that.

AugustusMinimus

the culture of deference wrote: »

I disliked DC for many years, then he caused MS the 98 champ with his backing off on the racing line in SPA, it tokk me until Monaco and his cape that I relaxed a bit on him.

My favourite bit from his racing career is when he went off on the outlap to the grid for the start of the race.
Every team mate he had before red bull won a championship in the same car.

Crashing in the pitlane at Adelaide in 95 was my favourite DC moment.

vincenzolorenzo

the culture of deference wrote: »

I am talking about 2003 season

Schumacher won the title that year but Raikkonen was the contender so I take your point.

I never liked DC during his McLaren years. He never came close to a title yet every year he was going to win it. He was also the epitomy of a Ron Dennis/McLaren robot which i hated. At least when he went to Red Bull he let people see he at least had some bit of personality and actually spoke out about things. Australia 98 was a definitive point in his career, after that he was always viewed as lower down the pecking order than say schu or hakkinen. It still rankles with him too. Did anyone notice his reaction when he was walking the track with Button in Australia and Button asked him if this was the race he let Hakkinen by. 13 years later and you could see it still annoyed him.

AugustusMinimus wrote: »

Crashing in the pitlane at Adelaide in 95 was my favourite DC moment.

Murray Walker's reaction made that one for me. Thought he was having a heart attack or something!

lord lucan

AugustusMinimus wrote: »

Crashing in the pitlane at Adelaide in 95 was my favourite DC moment.

That was a classic!:pac:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IxAEFEEo-Bo

TBH i'm enjoying the Brundle/Coulthard partnership. Their combined experience speaks for itself but Coulthard sounds like he's already settling into the role and Brundle is handling lead commentary duties admirably.

freestyla

lord lucan wrote: »

That was a classic!:pac:

TBH i'm enjoying the Brundle/Coulthard partnership. Their combined experience speaks for itself but Coulthard sounds like he's already settling into the role and Brundle is handling lead commentary duties admirably.

I so love early 90s cars design.. and they were reliable even on gravel.. until you hit the wall..

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=

http://youtu.be/lWLBB9tQu0o

I didn't read all posts but must say that BBC coverage rocks in overall. at least compared to other countries F1 coverage.. omg how boring its elsewhere. Germans RTL has also very good quality of whole show but can't think about any others really.

DC yeah.. too much poker face but at least very expert technically. Brundle simply just fit in, very good in every business there. Jordan is actually funny with those shirts of his.
The most important is that guys synergy works very well.. I feel like interacting with them

they all have been long in F1 and have a bit different knowledge strength, and its a bit amusing watch them talking seriously even we all know they have more close/personal relationships, between each other plus many other F1 stars. DC should be more chill and thats it.

wobbles

The commentary from China was the best so far but im sure theres more to come. I wasnt sure the partnership would work but it seems to be pretty god so far and still improving

Quote of the weekend has to go to DC when webber was catching button towards the end and button was told webber was catching him on better tires. DC's comment that the only way the message could be scarier was if it was told in the dark was great.

Looking forward to the next race already

rua1972

I noticed that Martin doesn't said anoyed over remarks by DC. Last year with Legarde just didn't really work. So i think this line up works very well, for me any way.
Jake doing the grid walk i think he didn't noticed that some drivers didn't want to chat, like schummi and vettel.

mickdw

Has the bbc coverage as a whole gone to sh1t a bit. The race itself is an improvement with the brundle and coultard but the grid walk as gone down hill, there seem to be less technical features from brundle and the forum has gone to crap. There was a time when half the grid & team managers would sit down with them and have a chat. I dont like brundles analysis with the tv screen either.
I was just thinking too, if you didnt have the red button, the coverage would be poor. No practice, decent qualifying show, full pre race show but a very short after race segment with little substance. Many driver interviews etc would be missed.

G-Money

I think the commentary team has got much better since Melbourne, it seemed to have a much better and more natural flow.

I seen a tweet from Jake Humphrey and apparently they got 5 million viewers for the live show from 7am. Not bad I think for early on a Sunday morning.

ottostreet

I think the commentary team is now the best I've seen since starting to watch the sport in 98. Coulthard & Brundle have relaxed considerably already, and I think that Martin Brundle could well become the new 'voice of F1'.

As for Jake & EJ, I think they are good at what they do, and EJ has to be admired for having the balls to grab bosses and drivers and make them talk.

The BBC have got it right, to the extent where I actually watch the preshow buildup again, as I stopped watching them towards the end of ITV's tenure.

freestyla

awesome double shoot comparison 1st and 2nd on grid!

p.s. turkish track is really addictive for repetitive attempts, it makes you intrude into corners for the best lap.. and corner 8 :O keep it in calendar!

bhur

Not the greatest gridwalk today!

ratedR

Forum is going a bit downhill. They need to get them all together in a motorhome, sitting down around a telly while bringing guests in and discussing the race, as they did in the past.

Jake and EJ talking in a very quite paddock today was very boring.