252 replies to this topic

[midgrid]

After reading the latest developments on the BBC coverage thread, I thought it might be helpful to gauge people's opinions through the results of a poll.

Murray Walker is not included as he is officially retired, and neither are broadcasters such as Anthony Davidson or Karun Chandhok because they are colour commentators.

[Dunder]

I don't really care.

There will be pages of complaints about whoever does this job. I don't especially like Leggard but for the most part I am able to filter out most of the commentary anyway.
I see that Charlie Cox is in the running, offhand I don't think he would fit especially well with Brundle although I quite enjoy him on MotoGP (the Eurosport guys were better though).

[phil1993]

Martin Brundle with someone, easily. But so long as Martin gets on with them and doesn't seem subdued like he has recently. I'd say Ben Edwards but then that might hinder his BTCC appearances.

[primer]

He's racing right now, but in future it would be nice to have Button on BBC commentary team.

[pingu666]

darryl waltrip would be funny i can just imagine him going

"BOOGITY BOOGITY LETS GO PROCESSIONAL RACING BOYS!" at valancia/hungry etc

[plastik2k9]

I think Jonathan Legard is a fantastic commentator for F1, perhaps the best one so far. His in depth knowledge of the sport is second to none, especially his ability to identify where there are hills on each circuit, and precisely when the cars are travelling up them. He can quickly detect any signs of a driver being on a charge, and when the battle has been joined. His inability to identify cars on the circuit provides great moments of suspense and excited confusion for fans. He gets my vote.

Edited by plastik2k9, 14 September 2010 - 14:36.

[domhnall]

Paul Page

'And here comes little Al......guersuari'

[undersquare]

Toby Moody.

No-one else comes close.

[RC127]

I voted for David Croft, as I think it unlikely that BBC would reinstate the pairing of Martin and James Allen, who I always loved as a commentator.

Not very many people big enough to admit that the Legard bashing is pretty bandwagon-esque (as it was with JA). Almost like everyone is trying to "fit in" by slagging off the commentator. Although in Legard's case, I think there is more than petty bashing going on - there are plenty of documented mistakes to list from Legard, where I always felt that the style of James Allen's commentary was the main gripe. Thing is, I think ITV/North One lent on him to be more jingoistic and be a Button/Hamilton cheerleader which aliented a lot of fans. I think the BBC James Allen would be way more like the unilaterals and JA on F1 James Allen - who appears to be pretty highly respected, even amongst those who slagged him off before.

As I have said on other forums, Croft is a way better commentator than his last major tv gig (GP2 on ITV in 2008) when I resented his commentary partly due to us being denied Haven and Rees (which had become such an integral part of GP2 for me, and no doubt others). He constantly impresses me during Free Practice and when I watch the key race moments back on iplayer (synched up with 5 Live commentary). I think he is a good enough broadcaster to be able to tailor his style towards television, so the argument that he is a "radio commentator" only doesn't sit with me, sorry.

I am actually ready to accept the end of Martin Brundle also, although not wishing him to leave. However, if the BBC were to bring Croft/Davidson over to television and bring new faces into 5 Live I would be very happy with that also.

[Mandzipop]

I voted for David Croft, as I think it unlikely that BBC would reinstate the pairing of Martin and James Allen, who I always loved as a commentator.

Not very many people big enough to admit that the Legard bashing is pretty bandwagon-esque (as it was with JA). Almost like everyone is trying to "fit in" by slagging off the commentator. Although in Legard's case, I think there is more than petty bashing going on - there are plenty of documented mistakes to list from Legard, where I always felt that the style of James Allen's commentary was the main gripe. Thing is, I think ITV/North One lent on him to be more jingoistic and be a Button/Hamilton cheerleader which aliented a lot of fans. I think the BBC James Allen would be way more like the unilaterals and JA on F1 James Allen - who appears to be pretty highly respected, even amongst those who slagged him off before.

As I have said on other forums, Croft is a way better commentator than his last major tv gig (GP2 on ITV in 2008) when I resented his commentary partly due to us being denied Haven and Rees (which had become such an integral part of GP2 for me, and no doubt others). He constantly impresses me during Free Practice and when I watch the key race moments back on iplayer (synched up with 5 Live commentary). I think he is a good enough broadcaster to be able to tailor his style towards television, so the argument that he is a "radio commentator" only doesn't sit with me, sorry.

I am actually ready to accept the end of Martin Brundle also, although not wishing him to leave. However, if the BBC were to bring Croft/Davidson over to television and bring new faces into 5 Live I would be very happy with that also.

The bolded part is the only thing I disagree with. The rest sums it up perfectly for me too.

[Nuvol]

no commentary at all!

[Atreiu]

Other, me, yes, seriously.

[Kraken]

Ben Edwards for me.

I seem to remember a race where Martin was the main commentator and from what I can recall it wasn't that good. The main commentary and expert commentary jobs are very different.

[syph0nJZ05]

Although Legard is bad he's not the worst that there could be. If the BBC were to replace him I can only see them doing so with a tried and tested commentator, that is a fans favorite. In my opinion that pretty much narrows it down to Croft. I still don't know why he wasn't their original choice anyway. I can't see Brundle taking the lead role. Brundle is fantastic at what he does, so leave him there. If the BBC were to bring back JA though, I think that would be good as I always liked him.

[Lights]

Not Legard, not Brundle, and for the rest I don't know many of them. I'd easily prefer Allen over Legard though.

[Risil]

Maurice Hamilton.

[Fastcake]

Don't really mind. I can honestly get on with Brundle and Legard, if the Beeb do want to change then I'll want someone new, rather than Allen or changing the five live team.

[syph0nJZ05]

Maurice Hamilton.

Hell no!

[Don_Humpador]

David Croft and Anthony Davidson.

They are great friends, have fantastic chemistry and are enthusiastic about what they are watching. Both have a good sense of humour, and are enjoyable to listen to.

Why would anyone at the BBC break this partnership up?

Get rid of Brundle. He's stale.

[D.M.N.]

Ben Edwards and Martin Brundle. If not, get Allen back.

[damon_hill_fan2007]

has to be Ben Edwards

[stevvy1986]

Maurice Hamilton.

Good job it's obvious you're not being serious. Also find it amusing (and bizarre) that Kravitz is an option on the poll. Absolutely no way would it be him as the main commentator. Pitlane reporter yes. Main TV commentator, no.

[stevvy1986]

Get rid of Brundle. He's stale.

Personally I think Legard has dragged Brundle down, and it's been obvious numerous times that Brundle is stood there thinking 'who the hell thought it was a good idea to make this guy the commentator, he's useless', or words to that effect.

[Tombstone]

Not Allen.

That is all.

[Mandzipop]

Personally I think Legard has dragged Brundle down, and it's been obvious numerous times that Brundle is stood there thinking 'who the hell thought it was a good idea to make this guy the commentator, he's useless', or words to that effect.

It was obvious from Australia 09 that there was no chemistry between them. I was willing to give the benefit of the doubt and that they would gel, but I get the impression that the doslike each other.

The only thing that goes against Crofty is splitting him up with Ant. They are a double act.

[domhnall]

Personally I think Legard has dragged Brundle down, and it's been obvious numerous times that Brundle is stood there thinking 'who the hell thought it was a good idea to make this guy the commentator, he's useless', or words to that effect.

Personally I think Brundle has been a little stale for a few years now. I only really noticed it around 2007 when I was able to watch the races on Setanta Sports for the first time. I found it refreshing to hear a new point of view instead of listening to Brundle repeating the same things he's been saying since the mid 90's. I would agree that his performance has dipped drastically alongside Legard but you can;t blame Legard for that. Brundle is paid by the BBC to do a job and has been pretty unprofessional imo. Outside the commentary box he;s been great though, in the forum for example and his grid walks have been terrific. Perhaps BBC should consider using him in Coulthard position (although DC I think is hoping for his position to be a long term one).

Crofty and Ant are brilliant together, probably the best combination I've seen in any motorsport. They're the obvious choice for the tv coverage.

[stevvy1986]

I would agree that his performance has dipped drastically alongside Legard but you can;t blame Legard for that.

If you're not happy commentating with a certain person, there's no chemistry, you find yourself thinking 'this guy is garbage' then your performance is going to drop in all honesty. Yes he's paid to do a professional job, but it doesn't help when he has to do a professional job against someone who he clearly thinks isn't good enough, and who he has to point things out to, correct, and generally try not to say what people who watch the races say, such as 'well duh Legard of course he's fastest, he's the only driver to have set a time you dimwitted donkey' and such like.

[Alfisti]

Just get James back and tell him not to go too overboard with the Hamilton thing. I really, really liked James, thought he was way better than Murray. Hoiwever, once Hamilton came on the scene he really did go pear shaped. He was talking about Hamilton chanelling Senna at one race, I mean WTF.

[hotstickyslick]

Just get James back and tell him not to go too overboard with the Hamilton thing. I really, really liked James, thought he was way better than Murray. Hoiwever, once Hamilton came on the scene he really did go pear shaped. He was talking about Hamilton chanelling Senna at one race, I mean WTF.

Yeah that was ugly, very ugly, along with the "Ghosts of Monaco". You gotta blame ITV for that though.

[midgrid]

Good job it's obvious you're not being serious. Also find it amusing (and bizarre) that Kravitz is an option on the poll. Absolutely no way would it be him as the main commentator. Pitlane reporter yes. Main TV commentator, no.

James Allen was promoted from the same role, so the precedent is there.

[rm111]

I think Jonathan Legard is a fantastic commentator for F1, perhaps the best one so far. His in depth knowledge of the sport is second to none, especially his ability to identify where there are hills on each circuit, and precisely when the cars are travelling up them. He can quickly detect any signs of a driver being on a charge, and when the battle has been joined. His inability to identify cars on the circuit provides great moments of suspense and excited confusion for fans. He gets my vote.

[SonnyViceR]

How about Robbie Nock, Eurosport's hilariously bad presenter of this year's "24 Minutes" preview show for 24 Heures du Mans? I can already see him there, akwardly rambling in the booth and "of course" shaking his hand. Partner him with Carlton Kirby, and we have a instant classic! Not.

Edited by SonnyViceR, 14 September 2010 - 16:32.

[Mandzipop]

How about Robbie Nock, Eurosport's hilariously bad presenter of this year's "24 Minutes" preview show for 24 Heures du Mans? I can already see him there, akwardly rambling in the booth and "of course" shaking his hand. Partner him with Carlton Kirby, and we have a instant classic! Not.

I had to look twice there. I thought initially it was Richard Hammond.

[hotstickyslick]

Nick Harris or Carlton Kirby.

[Crafty]

Personally I think Legard has dragged Brundle down, and it's been obvious numerous times that Brundle is stood there thinking 'who the hell thought it was a good idea to make this guy the commentator, he's useless', or words to that effect.

+1 brundle is too busy trying to hold the show together because of "that man".
Get someone to tell the story of the race, Brundle can add the tech/driver perspective.

ETA: Maybe we should find & post samples of the above people commentating, to give people an idea?
Vaguely remember Cox doing BTCC, but not enough to make a judgement on him

Edited by Crafty, 14 September 2010 - 16:47.

[Grayson]

I'd have voted for Murray Walker if he was on the list.

He'd do a far better job than most of the names on your list. He may have made a few mistakes, but Hunt and Brundle were there to correct them and he added so much excitement to any race that it was worth it. I'd love to hear his passion as he describes the last five races in a season where any one of five drivers can win the Championship!

I'm not really sure why his being retired is a reason to leave him off the poll - a thread in the Autosport forums is about as likely to tempt him out of retirement as it is to influence the BBC's decision on who to choose as a lead commentator and he's my answer to the stated question of "Who should be the main BBC F1 commentator?"

[alfsboy]

I would like to see Ant and Brundle .Two guys who actually know what they are doing .Leggard sound like that prat on the Lottery ,filling in between dropping balls (about right actually )" Number 32 has been picked 300 times and is composed of the numbers two and three but not in that order , back to you Martin"
I would love to have James Hunt put Leggard down with an imperious pithy comment

[noikeee]

Voted Martin Haven, although I'm not in England and BBC commentary doesn't concern me unless I'm downloading recorded races. He'd be the ideal for the job, as long as someone told him not to complain about the lack of mechanical grip in F1 every lap.

That being said, since he stopped covering GP2 on Eurosport I've seen him once in a while in MotorsTV and he seems to be a bit off-form, missing things on the screen and such. But then people apparently didn't mind that in Murray Walker!

[johnmhinds]

I don't care as long as Legard goes back to football.

I'm astonished that he hasn't changed one bit since Australia 09.
We know he has heard the criticism, yet he has done nothing to change, so he only has himself to blame if he is fired.

I think the BBC should try Brundle with Coulthard. Maybe some of the energy from the gridwalks and the forum would transfer over?

Edited by johnmhinds, 14 September 2010 - 17:10.

[Les]

I've preferred listening to the 5 Live commentators over the last year than the TV ones so I'd be happy for David Croft to get the main role and if Brundle stands down either Davidson or Chandhok depending on racing commitments of course. Of the others Ben Edwards would be good and I enjoyed his old partnership with John Watson on Eurosport (which I used to watch instead of Murray Walker and Joanathan Palmer).

[SonnyViceR]

Yes, I voted for Mr. Haven too - he's the only one on the list I really enjoy listening. But even so, I don't actually want him to commentate on F1 (and I'm sure Martin wouldn't either), since his skills are needed elsewhere. Plus, he would complain about lame rules, tracks and cars all the time (rightly so), which wouldn't be that great PR for F1 or BBC

Out of realistic candidates, Crofty would probably be okay, but my faith in him was lost when he was commentating for FIA GT on live television. Some people are just better on the radio - he's solid with Five Live.

Edited by SonnyViceR, 14 September 2010 - 17:21.

[SonnyViceR]

Joanathan Palmer

Now there was a good co-commentator! I'd take him over Brundle anyday, but unfortunately he's too busy arranging his son to win his own feeder series nowadays.

Edited by SonnyViceR, 14 September 2010 - 17:30.

[Les]

Now there was a good co-commentator! I'd take him over Brundle anyday, but unfortunately he's too busy arranging his son to win his own feeder series nowadays.

Are you serious, he was terrible! Not just my memory playing tricks either re-runs of classic races prove this. Probably my least favourite commentator ever actually. Just my opinion though.

[chuffbiscuits]

Crofty and Brundle would be perfect IMO, because Ant Davidson has a successful LMS career ahead of him judging by the Silverstone race and you can't have a guy in the Brundle role who won't be able to make several of the race weekends because of his sports car commitments. Croft is much better at being enthusiastic without shouting and foaming random words or simply describe what he is seeing verbatim into the microphone like Jonathan "And Webber's Gone Right Up There" Legard.

Do you think? I don't know. Maybe there's a.. wait, no, it's ... he's gone down the insi - outside - and WOW - that's something. Look at Vettel! He's really on a charge!

[Murdoch]

I've gone for Charlie Cox, reasons are:-

Ben Edwards 'mildly' irritates me whilst watching the BTCC, not sure if this is because he is on ITV (I can never take a sports presenter seriously if they appear on ITV, Lynam and Chiles used to have great respect (from me), but switching to ITV has sort of 'cheapened' them? Know what I mean? lol) Anyway, that may be a factor in not liking Ben Edwards, so he goes down as my 1st reserve.

James Allen - No way, I appreciate the fact that ITV 'may' have lent on him, but his voice was horrible and he always reminded me of a teachers pet. I was happy when BBC took over as it meant an end to adverts and an end to listening to him. I don't wanna go back there. His blog is rather good though.

Legard to remain, please no, seriously please no! 1950's maths teacher who ended up ruining F1 for millions.

I can't comment on Moody as I haven't heard him.

So Cox it is for me, I used to enjoy his commentary on the the BTCC and enjoy it now with MotoGP. I understand the concerns that his humour is similar to Brundles, and for that reason i'm not 100% sure. However, i'm a 100% sure it would be 100 times better than the current Legard/Brundle combo.

Actually, my 1st reserve would be Croft/Davidson, they're great to listen to (and I'll whisper it quitely, but.....


'i......think......davidson......is......better........than........brundle...
......)

[Skinnyguy]

Martin Brundle and Chuck Norris.

Ok, let´s get serious, I don´t care who is alongside Brundle, I just want him there.

[BRG]

Yes, I voted for Mr. Haven too - he's the only one on the list I really enjoy listening. But even so, I don't actually want him to commentate on F1 (and I'm sure Martin wouldn't either), since his skills are needed elsewhere. Plus, he would complain about lame rules, tracks and cars all the time (rightly so), which wouldn't be that great PR for F1 or BBC

Agreed. He would be emasculated by FOM.

Anyway, I see no problem with Legard at all. After James Allen he is still blessed relief. But I think Brundle is now used up and we need a new driver/commentator. Perhaps they should promote DC?

[Crafty]

DC would be terrible I think.

You don't see a problem with Legard ? really? wow.

Said it before on the BBC thread but why not put Crofty, Ant and Brundle together and use the same feed for radio & tv.

[BullHead]

^^ Yeah, I'll go with that ^^ Is Karun Chandok an option?

[Fastcake]

Oh god not DC. He'll make Red Bull's mistakes look like glorious victories.