Many years as 5live's F1 commenator followed by a few on Football for 5live, so they didn't just sign some idiot off the street.

(I bet if we got Allen back all these people complaining would go back to wanting rid of Allen)

For the 8th time, Crofty is a very bad TV commentator, worse that anything Legard has done so far. He does not transfer at all, his GP2 commentary was unlistenable at times because he never stops and whoever he's with never gets a word in.

Yes but would they be saying "bring back Legard"? I think not. Allen had faults but Legard is something else.

You might be right, Autosport appears to be grooming Bradley Lord for big things, and call him one of the 'hottest young writers in the F1 business'.

Bradley doesn't look particularly young from his photo byline, but I guess if you take the average age of guys like Nigel Roebuck and Alan Henry then young Lord is a spring chicken.

(Bradley Lord visits this forum fairly regularly and is quite upfront about various bits in pieces so he might stop by and tell us about his new role in Autosport. If you're reading Bradley, no offence about the age quip )

I find it difficult to believe Edwards turned down F1 to continue with A1GP and BTCC. Legard was probably the No1 choice from the start - he had done F1 before and was already on the BBC payroll.

I never understood the heavy criticism on these pages of James Allen in the final two years or ITV's coverage.
I now find myself visiting the ITV F1 website more regularly for his take on things, and I agree with others, his book on Schumacher was excellent and I was very pleased to see that he pulled no punches - it was a proper, balanced, warts and all biography.

Certainly James worked well with Martin Bundle and I would have kept him on. Maybe JL will improve but the last two laps earlier today he simply should have kept his mouth shut. It was really annoying.

The jury is still out on Legard but McKenzie is beginning to look like the token woman on the team.

As for the others, I hope Ted Kravitz gets a bigger role - he's always been excellent as are Jake and DC but Eddie Jordan definitely gets a red card.

By contrast, if he's available, Mike Gascoyne should be signed up for the season, his insights today were invaluable.

Let's not get too worked up over all this - I can put up with Eddie Jordan just to get away from those adverts !

Many on here would, I for one think Legard could never get as low as Allens near masterbatory vocals over Lewis and Jenson.

Read it properly, he wouldn't give them up so wasn't considered properly, nothing turned down.

So what? It means the same thing. He allegedly had the chance to do F1 but wanted to continue A1GP and BTCC as well.

Never said he had the chance, he informed them he wouldn't give them up so the BBC removed him from their list.

Not sure what your point is. If Edwards was on the "list" he was in with a chance, otherwise he wouldn't have been on the list in the first place.

The point I was trying to make originally was that while some people seem to think Edwards was solely passed over due his other commitments, I always thought Legard would be the first choice.

Regards

ITV told him to do it, plain and simple. I see no Lewis or Jenson bias in his blog at all.

People had to apply, the Beeb didn't have a list to start with, when he said he would not give them up his application wasn't considered.

potmotr, I'd be only too pleased to explain my new role at Autosport. But I've just got to pop off and draw my pension first

People commentate how they want (unless the sport in question is scripted), I doubt someone at ITV told Allen to put on a "masterbating" voice.

Really, really, really good coverage this weekend. Mike Gascoyne was superb. Everyone else was up to the usual standard. I enjoyed the walk through the pit lane in the build-up and the seamless link to Brundle's grid walk was very nice. When they showed the news section, I did think it was time for some re-heated clips from the previous day's show, but even then they had updated everything a little bit.

The only thing I didn't like from the weekends coverage was DC doing the grid walk with Martin. It ruined the flow of it all. As Brundles said in the past he conducts it on the fly and just talking to his cameraman as though it were a normal conversation. This in turn makes it feel like its a conversation between him and the viewers. DC just got in the way. Although credit to him, his comment to the journalist waiting for the Alonso interview, "we've had this booked for weeks" was rather amusing.

Exactly. The senior ITV producers could guide the storyline of the weekend but can't have been in James head commanding him to make instant calls.

Though perhaps that might explain "JENSON BUTTON GET IN THERE at Hungary 2006..."

Anyway, Jonathan Legard is the man for me.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/jakehumphrey/20...130_monday.html

Jake blog.

I have to say I really like reading Jake's blogs on the weekends coverage.

Ah, EJ's gonna be on my local radio station shortly. For anyone wishing to listen, click here.

Same here, it is a good behind the scenes read.

And I must say, this paragraph impressed me:

I appreciate how fortunate I am and I hope this blog continues to go some way to letting you all know what life's like on my side of the fence - and that I'm not taking this job for granted.

This is especially true given Jonathan Noble and Ed Gorman have both written pieces recently where they moan about having to work hard at the start of the season (Noble, after staying late on night in in Australia, Gorman in his pre-China blog).

I bet they're working hard, but when you're job is travelling the world to watch and write on Formula One I find it pretty hard to have sympathy for a few late nights.

We all work hard, most of us in far less interesting circumstances.

At least Jake has the good grace to be aware of that.

Im sure TV people work hard, but not nearly as hard as the print journalists.

TV production can be excruciating, especially if you're editing into the night.

It is much more of a team game than print so you're relying on other links in the chain to all come together.

Filling an (advert free) hour of pre-show twice a weekend would takes a hell of a lot of work too, and shouldn't be underplayed.

There are different tiers of print journalist too though.

The guy working for the wire service works a hell of a lot harder than the man from the national daily.

My point is, whinging about workload and long hours is a real turn off for fans.

I've no doubt jetting around the world covering Formula One is, at times, an exhausting experience.

But it is also one of massive privilege and grumbling about staying late to cover a breaking story doesn't sit that well with me as I ride the packed tube to work with my head rammed in some depressed City Boy's armpit.

I think for Ed, he has a family and has been doing it a while after covering sailing. I wouldn't underestimate the mental toll the unprecedented fly-aways this season take on a person and their relationships...

This season start has been tremendously unsettling I think for everyone involved.

And riding the train to the airport at stupid o'clock to sit next to one an an airplane is somehow better?

I'm sure an F1 paddock is a hell of a lot of fun if you're some dim VIP who's there to have their photo taken and pretend like you matter, but for most people it's a place of long hours and hard work. It's not like working down a coal mine, but it's hardly the ultimate fan experience either.

I hear you, and he has my sympathies, as does each member of the hard working F1 press pack.

I just don't really want to read about them...

I hear you, I just don't want to read about how late they have to stay etc.

I'd better go, Mr Fagan is back and there a stack of chimneys to sweep.

Yes and It's clearly affect his writing too which is rubbish....
Sorry I'm wrong it's always been Rubbish!!

You know, I actually enjoy those pieces - as blogs anyway. I think JN's article about Williams's Australian protest crossed a professional line - injecting the reporter into the story - in a blog that's okay.

I really like getting a sense of mood from the reporter, I think what it really tells us this year is just how much pressure these flyaways have put on absolutely everyone.

If you think the news-hacks are struggling imagine the engineers, drivers, team personnel. It's the most gruelling start to a season - well ever. I wonder what effect this punishing schedule is having on teams and their development race? What mistakes have been made because of it?

I dunno, I find the whole 'meta' side of F1 really intriguing. James Allen, JH, EG, for all their strengths/weaknesses, are really delivering value, for me at least, in describing and detailing this side of F1.

If there's one good thing about the Internet age, is that this kind of information is out there now.

I mean, I really feed for Gorman when I read the part of a recent blog entry:

The travelling Formula One circus is the most habit-forming of social groups - the same restaurants and bars are frequented year after year by both the media and teams so that set dinners and lunches become a tradition. In Australia, McLaren always entertains at the Stokehouse restaurant on Jacka Boulevard overlooking the bay; in Bahrain, BMW always puts on a dinner for the British press at the Novotel Al Dana resort in Manama which I will be attending on Saturday night, and so on and so on.

And so on and so on!

I'm sorry, but I can't help but feel a lot of these journalists are living life riding pretty high on the corporate hog.

Yeah, packed 15-20 to a table to get 5 minutes with one driver repeating the same tired lines and then off to file the story. Canapes and desert wines it's definitely not.

That is true, they are very interesting pieces which expose how exhausting it is dining at the Stokehouse Melbourne!

I can feel for them, I've flown back and forth between Australia and the UK enough times to know this for a pretty much fact - given the choice between a 5* luxury dinner and a home cooked dinner and a decent night's sleep, I know which one I'd pick :-)

It's good that we're talking about this, you know, because I think we all have to remember that most of the press people pay their own bills... While like any worker for hire, they factor in those expenses into their salary, most hacks do not make a lot of money. I was surprised actually at Bishop's salary at F1 racing, he wasn't paid, really, that much in any kind of terms. For the amount of hours he had to work - it bordered on rude actually.

I don't know why I'm being devils advocate for these guys though given my usual line towards the people we're talking about :-)

From what Nigel Roebuck used to write the key members of the British press pack were entertained in somewhat more lavish circumstances.

How many of his pieces used to feature references to multiple glasses of fine wine flowing...

thanks for the link.

His blog posts have been good. I really like the insights into the production of the show. And it's nice he explains why certain things may have looked awkward while watching live.

I can't believe how much stick Legard is getting in this thread. If you don't like him, press red. Obviously this was never an option in the ITV days, hence the stick Allen got.

My opinion is that Legard is very different to Allen (a good thing). I think he's done pretty well. Once he and Brundle really gel, then it will be a great line up.

Was watching in bed on terrestrial, wouldve tho!

Then we don't get Brundle. You forget we are paying for Legard through our TV license fee.

I think Jake Humphries needs some wardrobe management.

He looks quite odd in pressed black slacks alongside DC who looks the picture of casual cool in jeans and a pink shirt.

And Jake's spikey fringe leads to awful shadows over his face when the sun is in the wrong spot.

All this sympathy for journos, what about we viewers? With these early races I haven't had a lie-in on a weekend for weeks now!

Yes yes yes, but what people are saying is how much they love Martin Brundle and how little they are enjoying Jonathan Legard. Unfortunately the only commentary with Brundle happens also to feature Legard.

You'll be happy to know that the next F1 race where you will have to get up early is not until 4th October for the Japanese Grand Prix @ Suzuka.

Jake has impressed me with his knowledge of the sport. You get the impression that as soon as he got the job he was researching and it comes across, he looks like a fan of the sport now. He's asking the questions that the hardcore forum fans want to know i.e. DD diffusers and when will the non-DD teams get them rather than basic ITV style "What makes Lewis so good?" etc. He's earning the fans respect for not treating them like dummies on the coverage and asking technical questions as well utilising the knowledge of MG and DC and EJ.

PS - The forum after the race, rocks!

cripes, didnt realise it was that long til the next race where we all (in the UK and europe anyway) have to get up early

Enjoying the coverage, and none of those annoying adverts, Jake Humphries asks intelligent questions, and DC's giving some great input, clearly a very intelligent man.

Please don't bring back mr Allen and ruin it all.

Don't know about you, but I thought that was always part of the fun for those who live in the UK - for the likes of Australia, especially, and Malaysia - it somehow added to the excitement - for some reason getting up at 3 o'clock on a Sunday morning was easier than getting up at 6 o'clock. It's not been the same this year.

Legard wasn't quite so bad this weekend, but his commentary at the end of the race was unintentionally funny. The commentary for the last two laps consisted entirely of "Vettel drives along...concentrate...don't crash...there's Horner's leg twitching...don't crash...almost at the end...don't crash...Horner's leg...Vettel turns a corner...don't crash..." etc etc

He does that all the time, just jibbers in short bursts.