58 replies to this topic

[BorderReiver]

Hello Everyone

For those who don't have the ITV Feed (and most of the time, you're the lucky ones), Jenson Button was in the commentary box at Monaco today. And, horror of horrors, he was really good (at least I thought so anyway). Informative, very sharp with his observations (he picked up the Barrichello pit speeding very very well indeed), full of insite and very funny too sometimes. He was class all round.

Did anyone else enjoy his bits of the commentary?

I think the guy has his career after he retires sorted anyway .

[leeturne]

Funnily enough I was saying that to the missus during the race. I was expecting his usual inanities but ban BAR for the rest of the season, dump James Allen and let's have MB and JB in the commentary box. Good stuff!

[MuMu]

He was very very good

[KinetiK]

I thought Button was great! "They should both be disqualified" with the reference to that crap "pass" by Webber on Alonso... man... i was laughing out loud. I've always had the opinion that Button is about as smart as a dump truck but he was pretty good in the booth this weekend.

[alesifan46]

Button to ITV !!!!....Williams should be AFRAID that Button won't pick them to sit with next year!! well done JENS

[wildmind]

Totally shocked by how good he was... the first few laps were a bit worrying with MB & JA asking him questions all the time but they soon settled into a nice rhythm and he fitted in very nicely.

[Williams]

Originally posted by wildmind
Totally shocked by how good he was... the first few laps were a bit worrying with MB & JA asking him questions all the time but they soon settled into a nice rhythm and he fitted in very nicely.

Button did a great job. Articulate, gives some thought to his comments, yet easily able to pace Martin and Allen.

[Memory Loss]

The 3 way commentary team worked astoundingly well in my view.

Perhaps this will ultimately dispel the myth that Jenson is stupid… Along with the Ralf is an asshole and Kimi has no personality prejudices.

[nicjames]

Yeah, brundle did seem to want to direct every thread of the commentary into a prompt for button to interject. However, I guess this is more to do with helping out jenson wrt his lack of commentating experience.

ITV should get their chequebook out now...

[ensign14]

Very impressive, especially for a new bug at the job. Wonder if Lucky Strike will be pleased, gets BAR to the forefront of viewers' minds.

[SeanValen]

He would be a good commentor, I think most f1 drivers would make good commentors, I don't think we'll see another murray walker, he was unique. But Button has got alot of driving to do, it's possible he might not commentate for at least 10 years maybe, depending how long his career goes.

I prefer him racing though, thats where his real talent is. For me personally it was a blast to see him commentating and involved, I met him last Saturday in London, for the gumball rally, and for the monaco gp, he was commentating, and I can't wait to see him back on track next week!

[Captain Cranckcase]

Yep he was good. Too bad we had to hear that tool James Allen shouting still. I think Martin is ready to be lead commentator and someone else (Eddie Irvine maybe?) should sit alongside him. Allen needs to go though.

[Gilles4Ever]

Jenson was brilliant - best of all - he showed how good a commentary team can be if there was no James Allen - his comments sounded more inane than ever.

[SeanValen]

Originally posted by Captain Cranckcase
Yep he was good. Too bad we had to hear that tool James Allen shouting still. I think Martin is ready to be lead commentator and someone else (Eddie Irvine maybe?) should sit alongside him. Allen needs to go though.

I've always said Irvine would make a great commentator, he can as he's not in f1, it's these former f1 drivers who have such a drivers view of things, that really push the commentary forward, Nigel Mansell wouldn't be bad either, James Allen is as good as any f1 fan, now and again points out facts and the obivious, but with Irvine maybe seeking to come back as a team boss in f1, may need some other former f1 driver, Nigel Mansell maybe. Mansell on the grid at Monaco 2002, the 10th anniversary of his race with Senna in 1992, he'll have alot to contribute.

[Schuting Star]

I was pretty impressed too I'd rather he keeps driving for a few more years yet though.

[fuz]

I agree and he was generally sharper than Allen and Brundle.

You could tell they were trying to get him involved with the questioning, but during the race his input was more than valid

[Orin]

Excellent!

He reminded me a lot of Brundle actually, very insightful comments. A completely clanger about McLaren holding up at Imola but I doubt Jenson did any preparation for the commentary so I'll let it go. Got Alonso's fuelling wrong but Brundle was a little skeptical of Ted Kravitz too, initially. Lovely explanation of the difficulty of warming tyres with a heavy fuel load after an SC period

I'm very impressed, what's best is that he even diluted James Allen a bit and encouraged Brundle to contribute a bit more (I've noticed he's sat back a bit this season and let Allen hog the microphone far too much).

[pippin]

Well I was worried Button would be a snorefest, but he wasn't at all. He was outstanding. I can't believe how well it worked. He was quick, whitty (but not annoying at all like James Allen) and most of all he was very informative. Picking up Barrichello's pit lane infringement was really top drawer too. It made a whole world of difference to ITV's race commentary - well done Jense

[bear]

Button was good but "Eddie Irvine maybe"? that sounds very risky.

mark

[xype]

I was critical of his "opinions" a lot of times, but if you guys say he was good and sharp at commenting the race it probably means that he's not "stupid" after all. Yay for my false opinion!

Oh well, I just hope whereever he goes next year, he'll get a decent car. And if he was good commenting the race now, that's most likely a job he can pick up when he feels like right there.

[Ice T]

Originally posted by SeanValen


I've always said Irvine would make a great commentator, he can as he's not in f1, it's these former f1 drivers who have such a drivers view of things, that really push the commentary forward, Nigel Mansell wouldn't be bad either, James Allen is as good as any f1 fan, now and again points out facts and the obivious, but with Irvine maybe seeking to come back as a team boss in f1, may need some other former f1 driver, Nigel Mansell maybe. Mansell on the grid at Monaco 2002, the 10th anniversary of his race with Senna in 1992, he'll have alot to contribute.

Are you mad? Nigel Mansell? Have you ever heard him speak? He has the most boring voice in the history of mankind. After five laps of Nigel on the mike, everyone would be falling asleep. I'd rather remember the magic on the track that pervaded when he was in the car than his tedious voice or his incessant whining.

Unless, of course, you meant to say "Mansell wouldn't be bad, he'd be dire - worse than James Allen and Jonathon Palmer combined and about as much fun as a having an enema."

Button was very good. Far better than I expected.

[100cc]

was good, exactly what i expected

[nicjames]

Mansell: No way, i'd rather shoot myself than listen to the constant whine of his voice.

I've always thought Coulthard might be worth a crack alongside Brundle once his racing days are over; he comes over as intelligent & relaxed with the occasional sparks of true wit.

[F1Fanatic.co.uk]

Originally posted by nicjames
Mansell: No way, i'd rather shoot myself than listen to the constant whine of his voice.

Agreed - I really liked Mansell in his day but for his driving, not for speaking!

Button did a pretty good job on the whole - I liked his remark about preferring it if there were 20 cars instead of 18. And it meant we heard less from James Allen who I'm not so keen on...

[SeanValen]

Originally posted by Ice T


Are you mad? Nigel Mansell? Have you ever heard him speak? He has the most boring voice in the history of mankind. After five laps of Nigel on the mike, everyone would be falling asleep. I'd rather remember the magic on the track that pervaded when he was in the car than his tedious voice or his incessant whining.

Unless, of course, you meant to say "Mansell wouldn't be bad, he'd be dire - worse than James Allen and Jonathon Palmer combined and about as much fun as a having an enema."

Button was very good. Far better than I expected.

I said Eddie Irvine was my preferece first, delete Mansell and reclaim your composure and contentment with the enjoyment of the days activities.

[Captain Cranckcase]

Originally posted by nicjames
Mansell: No way, i'd rather shoot myself than listen to the constant whine of his voice.

I've always thought Coulthard might be worth a crack alongside Brundle once his racing days are over; he comes over as intelligent & relaxed with the occasional sparks of true wit.

Coulthard would be good. I also though Allan Mcnish wasn't that bad when did some presenting for itv. They need to get somebody to replace Allen, I can't stand that guys shouting it's so forced.

[ensign14]

Originally posted by Ice T


Are you mad? Nigel Mansell? Have you ever heard him speak? He has the most boring voice in the history of mankind.

Ignoring the random abuse, did you hear Mansell as co-commentator for the Birmingham Super Prix in the late 80s? He was indeed pretty good.

[Isamu77]

i liked his "no comment" on where he would be if he was out there racing

Very well done by Jenson
it was a very pleasant surprise

[jonpollak]

GREAT JOB


Brundle offering him directions from the grid to the booth was funny too.
'This way that way jink left then right if you get wet you've made a wrong turn.'

When we got a glimpse of the broadcast booth I saw Mark Hughes in there!!!
He must be doing stats for them I guess....or maybe, ...nah,...would make WAY TOO MUCH SENSE FOR ITV

Poor Jense had a rough throat at the beginning of the race but it got better as the race went on maybe someone brought him a cup of the infamous Slippery Elm tea.

Enjoyed today's coverage but there was a line at the beginning that made me spill my Bloody Mary.
Jim Rosenthal: "ITV DOESN'T DO BLAND"

Jp

[xenna]

Support all the comments so far

[SeanValen]

Originally posted by jonpollak
GREAT JOB


Brundle offering him directions from the grid to the booth was funny too.
'This way that way jink left then right if you get wet you've made a wrong turn.'



Jp

I enjoyed that also, good stuff.

[Zmeej]

Very impressive.

He also resisted Brundle's needling (at least that's what I thought it was) about the "size of fuel tanks" deftly.

Brundle and Bunsen worked very well together, particularly when Martin asked him to update knowledge about how a driver has to deal with conditions and their effects on a car.

Appreciated his perceptive commentary on when a brake lock is likely to leave a flatspot and when it isn't (prompted by Kimi's early stomp), and stuff like refueling, aero adjustments, braking distances, gear changes, etc.

Agree with Orin about the "dilution of James Allen."

Great quips:

"They should both be disqualified"

Re JV: "He's quite a personality, isn't he?"

That said, Jenson was very gracious about their years as teammates, his struggles at Sauber this year, and handled the JV/Massa incident VERY well.

I'm with Mme Schuting on wanting him to race a few more years though...

[pRy]

Maybe it was just my bad perception but he seemed a tad drunk at the start.. but other wise he was ok, and kept chipping in which kept Allen off the mic quite a few times.

I still think Martin will eventually replace Bernie so maybe they will have a seat in the box

[MortenF1]

What did they (Button especially) say about DC's performance?

[F1 Tor.]

I thought he did great. Don't know about others but I just got the impression it was 3 chums in the booth watching a race. James wasn't as forced with his comments I found and I thought Jenson's presence really brought a lighter element to the booth while still being very insightful at the same time.

[leeturne]

Talking about ex drivers commentating the worst I can remember was Jody Scheckter who stood in (twice I think) whilst Martin Brundle was driving in Le Mans. I'd sooner watch paint drying or traffic lights changing all day then listen to that again. I think the good thing about JB is that he is a current driver and as such complements Martin Brundle. I particularly liked the way that Brundle would ask a question of Button based on how different it is today than when he drove e.g. traction control (which he always seems to have hated), single tyre set etc. In fact Button got the fuel strategy right when he differred with Brundle and Allen who were both suggesting two stops for the leaders.

[Youichi]

Jenson has certainly gone up in my estimation today, I always thought of him as an F1 version of a Boy-Band member, but he proved both quick witted and observant today, and more than capable of stringing together a thoughtful sentence, full marks

He did well to spot Barrichellos Speed limiter, and his "no comment" line to Brundles needling was very mature, I was expecting lots of "we'd have won easy" comments, but he resisted the temptation admriably.

[Rockford]

I agree that Jenson was superb - enjoyed the fact that he and Brundle seemed to keep James Allen "out of the loop". Allen also seems to get flatter as the race goes on - very excitable at the start and then drifts off to sleep. Before he got Murray's job I was hoping it would go to Ben Edwards who I've always thought is very good - a bit like Murray in that he get's appropriately excited but, unlike Murray, knows what he's talking about...

[rce]

Originally posted by Youichi
Jenson has certainly gone up in my estimation today, I always thought of him as an F1 version of a Boy-Band member, but he proved both quick witted and observant today, and more than capable of stringing together a thoughtful sentence, full marks

He did well to spot Barrichellos Speed limiter, and his "no comment" line to Brundles needling was very mature, I was expecting lots of "we'd have won easy" comments, but he resisted the temptation admriably.

Yeah - I had that impression of Jenson...missing member of "insert boy band name here"...but have also always thought he was a good driver (when the car is working - great). I agree with your comment about his reaction to Brundle - it was nice that he didn't go on and on about how he would have done...some other drivers may have gone down that route.

He's got my vote for commentary, once he's finished racing! And DC - think he'd be good too.

[Rene]

I agree with the rest of you, Button did an excellent job, especially for the first time behind the mic

[Zmeej]

Forgot to mention one thing (the only one) that kinda got on my nerves:

He kept on referring to Kimi as "Rackonnen."

A mild irritant though.

[daSilvium]

Originally posted by Rockford
Before he got Murray's job I was hoping it would go to Ben Edwards who I've always thought is very good - a bit like Murray in that he get's appropriately excited but, unlike Murray, knows what he's talking about...

totally agree about Ben Edwards. He's very knowledgeable, an ex-racer, and I think Brundle and Ben Edwards would be a great team.

Agree with all the comments about Buttons' performance in the commentary box. Slightly surprised that quite a few of the posters here are themselves surprised that Jens has got a brain and is witty ! I just think it shows that it's easy to make pre-judments about people. Jenson's a top bloke.

Jenson's also best mates with DC and DC's manager is Brundle so i think it's fair to say that Jenson and Brundle know each other quite well and i think this showed in their rapport. Brundle was EXCELLENT in using the rare opportunity of having a current F1 driver in the commentary box for the whole race by getting as much info as he could out of Jens on what the driver would be doing with the car settigns / talking to engineer / managing the tyre situaiton etc) - thought that was excellent work by Brundle and, as people have said, had the added benefit of shutting Allen out a bit.
Brundle is a very good diplomat but i often think he's only just managing to suppress a grimace at some of James Allen's comments etc.

Frankly i would have preferred it if ITV had told Allen to go sit on a yacht the whole w/e (or maybe the whole year..) and just have Brundle and Button in the commentary box.

Also pleased Jenson got a mention in for Karthikeyan's general performance this year. I used to watch JB and Karthikeyan race together in UK in F3 and Narain is a v good (but low-key) driver. Good of Jens to mention Narain i thought.

JB:
Brundle:
Allen: :

[Zawed]

Surprisingly good commentary from MB and JB - although Jense sounded like he should have been sucking a cough lollie at times.

[fastlegs]

This kid is a natural for F1 commentary.

It appears that Jenson may have a career in broadcasting after his racing career is finished.

[Slumberer]

Did anyone think they were trying a bit too hard with the "Now for UNINTERUPTED coverage right to the end of the race" comments?;)

[WACKO]

Originally posted by Captain Cranckcase
I think Martin is ready to be lead commentator and someone else (Eddie Irvine maybe?) should sit alongside him. Allen needs to go though.

Sadly for you British, to my information it will be Brundle leaving first if he accepts an offer made by the FIA to join them on some position.

[Schuting Star]

Originally posted by Slumberer
Did anyone think they were trying a bit too hard with the "Now for UNINTERUPTED coverage right to the end of the race" comments?;)

Made me laugh, but then I didn't witness the fiasco at Imola.

[pRy]

Originally posted by Slumberer
Did anyone think they were trying a bit too hard with the "Now for UNINTERUPTED coverage right to the end of the race" comments?;)

They normally say that but I did notice it.

[LuckyStrike1]

Originally posted by Memory Loss


Perhaps this will ultimately dispel the myth that Jenson is stupid… Along with the Ralf is an asshole and Kimi has no personality prejudices.

I've never thought of Jenson as stupid.

But I do believe Ralf is an asshole, and Kimis only personality is a lack of the same

[DanTheMan]

Disappointed I didn't get to see/hear this. I moved to USA last year and now watch the races on Speedvision. Although we get all the coverage (not sure how much ITV are doing of the practices) it does suck having to get up at 6am ish for the European Races!

Glad to hear that Button did well, I thought it would be interesting