53 replies to this topic

[rzottl]

Who do you think are the best F1 announcers of the past, the best ones currently

working and who do you think might be qualified to do the job in the future.

My favorite one was James Hunt because not only was he a great driver, but he

had no use for poitical correctness and was brutally honest about the talent or lack

of it among the paddock.

My least favorite commentator is Rick Debrul from the SPEED CHANNEL. I will

admit he has gotten a little better, but he sure started from a low point.

I would like to see Eddie Irvine in the booth in the future as he also seems to tell

it like he sees it. Love him or hate him, he would at least not be boring.

[aportinga]

Bets -

Bob Varsha
Steve Matchett

Worst -

Chris Economaki

[Dead Sexy]

Originally posted by aportinga
Bets -

Bob Varsha

Is that a joke?!

[Dead Sexy]

The current ITV lineup is pretty hot.

[BorderReiver]

Has to be Murray Walker doesn't it?

He genuinly was the "voice of motorsport".

On another note, I know he isn't a commentator, but I've always been extremely impressed with the way that Allan McNish has conducted himself on TV, in spots for ITV and the like. He is always interesting, engaging, genuine and knowledgeable. If Martin Brundle ever want's to spend more time with his family (please don;t go just yet Martin), I'd love to see Allan take over the expert slot.

[ehagar]

The Speed crew...

I like Matchett and Hobbs (he always sounds drunk), but DeBruhl is annoying. He isn't as bad as when they started with him though. Oh man was he bad in that first race. Varsha was far better...

I didn't like Sam Posey's in race commentary but his introductions he used to do were great. Wish they would have him do an opening piece for the races.

CTV/TSN

Vic Rauter... better than DeBruhl but what is that saying! Tolerable but not great.
John Watson... annoying. His driver interviews are good though.
Gerald Donaldson. I like him. Nice guy and he gets Villeneuve interviews.

CBC English

Brian Williams - A pompous ass. Makes annoying rants about all sorts of things. But I expect him to do Olympic coverage... What would Canadian Olympic coverage be without his time zone banterings, outrage at drug scandals, lack of athlete support, yada, yada, yada...



ITV -
Man do the British wank over their own drivers...

James Allen - 'Coming, Coming, Coming..... GOOOOOoooooooooooo' This guy is a git! Starting to get used to him but sometimes he just bloody well talks to much. Makes me miss Murray. James was good at his pit job.

Martin Brundle - Hilarious and interesting to listen too.

Louise Goodman - OK

Murray Walker - At first I was annoyed when I heard him, then I got used to it, now he is gone. I miss him now

CBC French -

Can't remember their names but they are ok...

[wawawa]

When ESPN used to air it, JYS was terrific!

[aportinga]

Is that a joke?!

Not at all. Varsha was the first to add a level of professionalism to the booth after ousting Chris Economaki. Paired with Hobbs the two were sensational. Now I don't know how long you have been watching - nor what feed you get but he was by no means a joke.

And besides that he is very open to fans and a great guy outside of the sport

[fifi]

Originally posted by Dead Sexy
The current ITV lineup is pretty hot.

take away James Allen and i would agree

[se7en_24]

Marc Surer and Jacques Schultz are pretty decent, but my vote would go to Murray as I grew up to him and his voice just screams 'Formula 1' to me.

[MJP]

The best...

Dr. Jonathan Palmer. Informative, fair and neutral in his commentaries. Very pragamatic and knowledgeable. One of his good broadcasts - "rain in Spain"; MS giving to a field 4 sec lesson... Immesurably better than anything on the scene today on both sides of the pond, which includes ITV, Speed, or Canada's teams. (Except J. Watson who is an expert in his own standing).



The worst (means I do not like)...

Paul something [IRL] with J. Allen [ITV] and rest of them, followed closely by S. Matchett [Speed].

[aportinga]

Paul Page

I agree the guy is just way to excited.... Can u imagine what it must be like for his wife???

They get up in the morning.

Wife heads to the bathroom grabs a toothbrush...

"Look now as she negotiates the blast of toothpaste over the toothbrush..... oh no - oh no she's going for it. Look out bi-cuspeds!"

[AlesiUK]

The best...

Dr. Jonathan Palmer. Informative, fair and neutral in his commentaries. Very pragamatic and knowledgeable. One of his good broadcasts - "rain in Spain"; MS giving to a field 4 sec lesson... Immesurably better than anything on the scene today on both sides of the pond, which includes ITV, Speed, or Canada's teams. (Except J. Watson who is an expert in his own standing).

you gotta be kidding me!palmer was a nitemare,always waffling o about strategy and getting nothing right!he was truly the worst ever.

Watson was nearlyy as bad,he was the only bad thing about digital f1 coverage,he was soooooo biased toward schumacher,and never got anything right either.

My favorite one was James Hunt because not only was he a great driver, but he

had no use for poitical correctness and was brutally honest about the talent or lack

of it among the paddock

id agree if it wasnt for the way he treate Patrese,that was disgraceful.

[pRy]

1. Murray Walker
2. Martin Brundle
3. Jon Watson

[A3]

Isn't this a bit depending on where you live?

I could say Dutch Olav Mol is the best but who would know except the Dutch?

[scheivlak]

Originally posted by A3
Isn't this a bit depending on where you live?

I could say Dutch Olav Mol is the best but who would know except the Dutch?

And even then.... I like him a lot but the last two seasons I liked Tom Coronel at Dutch CanalPlus (ahhh BernieVision... ) even more. Witty, personal and really "into it".
What I hate in the present-day RTL5 line-up are those pitreporters. Complete overkill, always asking questions I already know the answer of, and getting in the way of the feeling of a live registration. They have a talent to ask questions at the exactly the wrong moments in the race (of course this a responsibility of someone else, but it's rather irritating).

[Witt]

Originally posted by A3
Isn't this a bit depending on where you live?

I could say Dutch Olav Mol is the best but who would know except the Dutch?

I don't speak a word of dutch, but i've heard Olav commentate, and i likened him to Murray Walker. He sounds very enthusiastic.

No one will ever beat Murray. He was an enthusist first, journalist/presenter very second. These days, one can only make it to the commentary booth by being outstanding in the latter category. James Allen is testimony that they don't select commentators based on their passion and enthusiasm for the sport. He may be a big fan of the sport, and very much enjoy calling the races, but he always sounds like he is acting, and not commentating.

James Hunt was a legend in the booth. It's funny to picture him commetating after reading what Murray had to say about him. If you ever put on an old race, you now think that he's probably lying on the floor of the booth with a massive hangover. I know he has a reputation for bagging Patrese while calling the races, but from what i've heard of his commentary, he still had plenty of good things to say about Patrese when he did something good. From what some people say, you'd think as soon as the race started, he'd start ranting about how bad Patrese is.

Martin Brundle is the perfect 'special comments' guy, good and funny, but Hunt still takes the honours for the best in this category.

Jackie Stewart is a very good commentator as well, but too bad he doesn't call the races anymore for anyone.

and yeah, i agree with rzottl, that Eddie Irvine would be king of 'special comments' commentary if he ever felt the urge to get behind the mic.

[Mosquito]

Originally posted by scheivlak
What I hate in the present-day RTL5 line-up are those pitreporters. Complete overkill, always asking questions I already know the answer of, and getting in the way of the feeling of a live registration. They have a talent to ask questions at the exactly the wrong moments in the race (of course this a responsibility of someone else, but it's rather irritating).

I couldn't agree more. What really annoys me is how they manage to squeeze all kind of totally unnecessary interviews in during sat. qualifying. It messes up the essence of the new qualifying schema, full attention to a single run per driver. Some feeble dumb arsed questions on 'Justin, how do you feel your lap went?' really pisses me off, especially if someone is setting a fast split time which then obviously has to ~wait~ for being commented on. They have a freaking long preview program, can't they safe the interviews for AFTER the qualifying???

Not that much trouble for the interviews during the race, but a lot of times they are too long, too predictable and then most annoying of all is how they manage miss the essentials in the quick translation. Forget about the translation (interpretation I think it should be called) since I think most will follow English, or do it right!


Concerning the topic:
- Murray Walker partnered with James Hunt (BBC, and THE TUNE of course)
- Murray Walker partnered with Alan Jones during Australian GP
- John Watson
- Olav Mol with Alard Kalf (opdonderen Klooi & co! )
- Jan Lammers, Patrick Huismans (Oplazeren Ruud ter Weide!! )

[jonpollak]

Originally posted by wawawa
When ESPN used to air it, JYS was terrific!

yeah, me too
Jp

[bear]

Even though I am in North America:

1. Murray Walker
2. Martin Brundle (his dry whit is great)
3. Jon Watson (Jonathan Palmer)


Speed is ok, CBC,TSN and CTV in Canada need alot of work IMO.

mark

[MJP]

Originally posted by AlesiUK



you gotta be kidding me!palmer was a nitemare,always waffling o about strategy and getting nothing right!he was truly the worst ever.

Watson was nearlyy as bad,he was the only bad thing about digital f1 coverage,he was soooooo biased toward schumacher,and never got anything right either.





id agree if it wasnt for the way he treate Patrese,that was disgraceful.

Hmmm... Palmer, and getting nothing right? I hear that he was replaced because he was too technical, and a half of british population had no clue what he was decribing...

[austin]

Personally, I don't like any of the SPEED commentators, except for the guy that was on during the Malaysian GP. Anyone know who he is?

From the clips I downloaded from the internet, I think Murray Walker is also very good. I think he and the guy SPEED had on the Malaysian GP had a similiar style.

[SupraDupra]

Hmm the best definitely has to be Murray Walker, he was great. Martin Brundle is quite good as well.

There is only one option for who the worst is.. It's Vic Rauter for TSN in Canada. All those who have had the misfortune of hearing him commentate will know what I'm talking about.

[Lister of Smeg]

The old Eurosport team: Watson & Edwards.

[Moomacher]

Originally posted by austin
Personally, I don't like any of the SPEED commentators, except for the guy that was on during the Malaysian GP. Anyone know who he is?

From the clips I downloaded from the internet, I think Murray Walker is also very good. I think he and the guy SPEED had on the Malaysian GP had a similiar style.

Linn Diffey (spelling may be wrong). Very enthusiastic guy. I think for Americans it just "sounds right" to have people with different accents commentating on f1. Diffey more interesting then Ricky in my opinion. Matchett is pretty good and Hobbs always sounds like he is on the sauce...

[A3]

Originally posted by Mosquito
Oplazeren Ruud ter Weide!!

I'm going to be in the studio for the next GP. :D Do you want me to say something to him?

[TwilightShark]

the worst..... thats easy.... if any of you guys listen to the commentary on
STAR SPORTS in the asia pacific region you'd know...
steve slater sux so bad.

[kenjafield]

I grew up with Murray Walker, and F1 hasn't been the same since he has gone. I've noticed a lot more "boring" races since he left us, and it's nothing to do with what's going on on the track.

Fire James Allen. He sucks!

[cozworth]

Originally posted by TwilightShark
the worst..... thats easy.... if any of you guys listen to the commentary on
STAR SPORTS in the asia pacific region you'd know...
steve slater sux so bad.

I feel atleast CHRIS GOODWIN's a good commentator.

[30ft penguin]

Originally posted by se7en_24
Marc Surer and Jacques Schultz are pretty decent

You're right They are VERY good. I especially like that they do not really show any national favouritism. Surer is a pretty nice fellow - and he KNOWS a lot, too.

[babbel]

Originally posted by A3


I'm going to be in the studio for the next GP. :D Do you want me to say something to him?

make a banner : Ruud you are the weakest link.... goodbye !

Olav Mol is good, Rick Winkelman is also good but Jack Plooi(although he doesn't annoy me as much as say 2 years ago) could do *alot* better.

The dutch guy who does DTM at SBS6 is quite good too, does any of the dutchies know who he is ?

[FredrikB]

The old Eurosport team: Watson & Edwards.

[grmpreefan]

Definately the classic duo of Murray and James were the best. Like chalk and cheese and they worked beautifully together.
Loved James as he would never hold back if he had something to say and the spray he gave Mansell during the 92 Japanese Grand Prix was great. Went on about how patronising Mansell was to Patrese when he was so obviously gifting him a win when it was obvious to all by the way he walked away at the start of the race that he would have won it himself.
Also when he gave him a serve during the same race about being a wuss and running away to America to race Indycars because he was too scared to have Prost as teamate in 93, not because he didnt get offered another contract, he was scared he would lose to him again. Hilarious stuff and so true too!

[Captain Cranckcase]

Originally posted by kenjafield
I grew up with Murray Walker, and F1 hasn't been the same since he has gone. I've noticed a lot more "boring" races since he left us, and it's nothing to do with what's going on on the track.

Fire James Allen. He sucks!

James Allen is so annoying that I feel like just turning the sound off and tuning into the radio. All he does is YELLL!!!! and make stupid comments aboiut snorting laps and how Montoyas lost it, then the next week he's the greatest thing since Senna.

[madmac]

Never having listened to non UK or Eurosport commentry I can only comment on how crap James Allen is That said Hunt was great, Brundle is nearly as good & I would like to see Ben Edwards in the box alongside him.

[A3]

Originally posted by babbel

The dutch guy who does DTM at SBS6 is quite good too, does any of the dutchies know who he is ?

I was surprised by him as well, but I don't know who he is either.

[berlinetta]

Definitely the Great Murray Walker

[Nikolas Garth]

With apologies to MASAHIKO KIMURA,

"There has been no Murray before Murray. There will be no Murray after Murray."

[BuonoBruttoCattivo]

Originally posted by austin
Pexcept for the guy that was on during the Malaysian GP. Anyone know who he is?

Yeah, he's excellent. Ozzie citizen I believe.
He was sent to do Le Mans last weekend.
Derek Bell (fantastic guy) helped out as well.

Ivan Capelli in Italy is good but monotone, and Giorgio Piola is sent to the pits to expalin to us viewers fire extinguisher and electircal cut-off switches on F1 cars.
But still better than occassional Andrea de Adamich in the past.

Bob Varsha is a nerd and I feel like I am listening to a ****ing informerical.

Hobbs and Matchett quite funny and no probs for me.

Little Ricky high-shrill voice at 7:30 am on Sundays is a total brain-****.

[kenjafield]

Here's a good Murrayisms site:

http://www.worldmotorsport.com/murray/

Some examples:

"And the first five places are filled by five different cars."

Murray: "And there are flames coming from the back of Prost's car as he enters the swimming pool."
James: "Well, that should put them out then."

"As you can see, visually, with your eyes..."

And we have had 5 races so far this year, Brazil, Argentina, Imola, Schumacher and Monaco!

And Damon Hill is coming into the pit lane, yes it's Damon Hill coming into the Williams pit, and Damon Hill in the pit, no it's Michael Schumacher!

Jean Alesi is 4th and 5th'

The list goes on and on and on...

[BorderReiver]

Originally posted by BuonoBruttoCattivo
But still better than occassional Andrea de Adamich in the past.

I've never heard him commentate, so I can't speak for or against him. However, de Adamich writes some brilliant and interesting articles. . . .

[BuonoBruttoCattivo]

Originally posted by BorderReiver


I've never heard him commentate, so I can't speak for or against him. However, de Adamich writes some brilliant and interesting articles. . . .

Hey Border, he did when the F1 season was split half-way between Italy's state-owned RAI station (8 races) and privately-owned channel (8 races).
He did the latter.
He was/is prolific writer and had/has his own pre- and post GP shows, full of analysis and discussions and also car/bike shows.
I am harsh on the guy, he is just fine, I just never warmed-up to him.

[Newtsche]

Bob Varsha.

Passionate racing fan, knowledgeable without being pedantic, traditional broadcast tools.
Varsha brings the best out of those teamed with him, opening doors for them and then deferring without condescension or pandering humility. In broadcast terms a true anchor.

[Mosquito]

Originally posted by A3
I'm going to be in the studio for the next GP. :D Do you want me to say something to him?

Nah, but you could give him a big kick in the butt with my name on it

And he should stop knowing better than the experts, make an argument for argument's sake, stop drooling on what HE thinks is heroic while the (experienced racing driver) studio guests tell him he's full of it, etc, etc, etc, etc. I'd rather prefer they take Jur Raatjes for the studio presentation. But that will never happen I fear. :

My ideal setup:
Studio host: Jur Raatjes
Studio guest (2 out of): Jan Lammers, Patrick Huisman, Tom Coronel, Mike Hezemans
Track commentator: Olav Mol
Pit reporter: Allard Kalff (+ perhaps Rick Winkelman)


PS: The sister of a friend of mine works there, when are you going, next GP? I could allert her to hand you some goodies or shirts, you know the ones that'll get you into the Paddock without a pass.

[Bumper]

Originally posted by Moomacher
Linn Diffey (spelling may be wrong

Leigh Diffey you mean? Good commentator.

Best to my knowledge is Martin Brundle, great commentating and I like it when he corrects James Allen when he makes another stupid comment. And yes, bring on Eddie Irvine for some light comic relief! Also, Ben Edwards would do a great job

Worst has to be James Allen, I don't know anyone who likes him or appreciates him as a commentator, the guy totally gets on my nerves, my skin breaks out in a rash whenever I hear him on tv and I pray that ITV will release him from his contract asap.

[mr.wong]

Originally posted by A3
Isn't this a bit depending on where you live?

I could say Dutch Olav Mol is the best but who would know except the Dutch?

olav is entertaining, but i have to say he NEVER gets the drivers right. if ms is in the picture, he says it is rubens. if it is montoya he says it is ralf. he does this so often he doesn't even correct himself anymore. it is especially funny when he suddenly screams (as he did recently) where is barrichello!!! (only to realise later that it is ms on screen). but he is charming none the less.

[Mosquito]

Originally posted by mr.wong
olav is entertaining, but i have to say he NEVER gets the drivers right. if ms is in the picture, he says it is rubens. if it is montoya he says it is ralf. he does this so often he doesn't even correct himself anymore. it is especially funny when he suddenly screams (as he did recently) where is barrichello!!! (only to realise later that it is ms on screen). but he is charming none the less.

He was certainly a bit sloppy in Montreal, but I don't think that's typical. Sure, he gets it wrong sometimes, but on the plus side he's very focussed on noticing sector times, stuff happening not on camera, people on the move forward or backwards, etc. Maybe his need to cover 'everything' and switching back and forth between track data, TV feed, 2 pit reporters and what he sees outside of his window makes him a bit more error prone that the average presenter following mainly the same feed as we do. And the Montreal director didn't make it any easier for us switching regularly between Michael/Ralf and Rubens/David at some point. Still after all this time I find Schumacher's and Barichello's helmets dificult to distinct from a distance.

[Fastcar]

Originally posted by Dead Sexy
The current ITV lineup is pretty hot.

Surely your jesting ? James Allen is the most annoying man on television whereas Murray was the most interesting man on television without doubt he was a major reason why Bernie is so rich ! James Allen will definitely NOT help improve spectacle of F1 he in fact dampens it down.

[Dead Sexy]

Originally posted by Fastcar


Surely your jesting ? James Allen is the most annoying man on television whereas Murray was the most interesting man on television without doubt he was a major reason why Bernie is so rich ! James Allen will definitely NOT help improve spectacle of F1 he in fact dampens it down.

James Allen is fine.

Murray was annoying. You may find all his mistakes and lack of ability to really call a race funny, but for others it was just frustrating. Some of us want to know what happens in the race, not in Murray's ancient head

[BorderReiver]

Originally posted by Dead Sexy


James Allen is fine.

Murray was annoying. You may find all his mistakes and lack of ability to really call a race funny, but for others it was just frustrating. Some of us want to know what happens in the race, not in Murray's ancient head

In my view if you couldn't compensate for Murray's mistakes, and know yourself whats happening on the screen, then you couldn't call yourself an F1 fan.

At least Murrays mistakes were honest and born out of enthusiasm. He knew his stuff, just sometimes he explained it badly, or got a bit confused. Unlike Allen who waxes lyrical about stuff he doesn't really understand until he is checked by the wonderful Martin Brundle.

You mark my words, Walker was what attracted many to F1 with his style and injection of excitement. Allan on the other hand is a dull corperate type of bloke, I doubt he attracts many new viewers.

As a test shut your eyes and listen to the James Allen commentary next time it's on. I can guarentee you you'll be bored to death. Allen needs the pictures, Murray didn't.