F1 is Better Off With the Beeb

I was one of the many millions of F1 fans all over the country who thanked my lucky stars when it was announced that the BBC are going to take over the F1 coverage. The ITV coverage of Formula 1 gone severely downhill recently, and here are some of the main issues that I have with the coverage.

First of all, there's the Lewis Hamilton issue or, as ITV makes it look, the God issue. Every single race they interview him, whether he has qualified first or last.

Every race Steve Rider and Mark Blundell discuss the upcoming race in relation to whether Hamilton has a chance of winning it.  It's called Formula One, not the Lewis Hamilton show.

I don't need to see Lewis' face at every turn, and I'm pretty sure that Lewis doesn't need the extra build up or the extra pressure that this is likely to put on him.

But contrast this with the MotoGP coverage on the BBC. They have James Toseland, who is doing a brilliant job in his rookie season, but they don't interview him before every race or talk about him at the expense of the rest of the riders.

Don't even get me started on the chemistry-less ITV commentators. James Allen is more annoying than everything. He gets overexcited about the smallest things, and he shouts at every little thing.

Martin Brundle, on the other hand, gets excited about nothing. In fact, there was once a time when I seem to remember quite liking Allen as a pit lane reporter, but since he has stepped into the commentary box, he has tried to emulate the great Murray Walker when he should really just do his own thing.

The motoGP commentators, Charlie Cox and Steve Parrish, are a lot more pleasing to the ear. They calmly talk us through the race, get excited when it's needed, and they have a bit of friendly banter, which lightens the mood. They don't shout at us, and they don't overdo what they are saying.

After the race, the BBC coverage carries on being much better. ITV cuts straight to Steve Rider and Mark Blundell, who can't speak English properly, where they analyze the race by pointing out the obvious from the videos.

Then to the press conference where, unless the race has finished quickly, they only have time to interview the winning driver before they plug some more of the programs on ITV. 

Then cut to the next program, which is usually pre-recorded or repeated and could easily be pushed back in the schedule.

The BBC MotoGP coverage, on the other hand, goes to Suzi Perry, who is a very enthusiastic and entertaining presenter, who gets the opinion of Steve Parrish.

This conversation is interspersed with parc fermé interviews with all of the top three riders as they finished the race. It is informal, and you get the drivers fresh after a race with their opinions.

Another massive bugbear of mine is that the questions asked by ITV's Louise Goodman in the interviews seem to be provoking the drivers into saying something controversial.

For example, at the Canadian grand prix last weekend she asked one of the drivers a question along the lines of "Do you think the authorities should clamp down on the track disintegrating issue?"

Now, for me, this question has the sole aim of trying to make the driver say something which is likely to land him in hot water.

In the MotoGP, the questions are direct and to the point. They just get the opinion of the rider they are interviewing. That's all they need. If the rider chooses to make a controversial comment, then he will.

Formula One moving to the BBC is hopefully going to improve everything as they know how to put on a sports program. They cover everything from football to curling. ITV has outstayed its welcome, and the quality is sadly declining.