Lewis Hamilton’s recent move to Mercedes, which was announced last week has, inevitably generated a lot of media interest with some wondering whether Hamilton has made the right move. I had the opportunity to speak with some of the youngsters involved in “Britain’s Next F1 Star”, currently screening on Sky Sports F1, to get their thoughts and opinions.
Seb Morris said “If the team I was in, was consistently winning races, and consistently fighting at the top, I would not wish to go anywhere else unless it was a completely safe bet that I was going to do even better than the current team I am in. ”
Josh Hill added to that saying that Hamilton may have wanted a new challenge, noting “I think that although you always want to be in a front running car, after a long stretch with the same team I would want to see how I perform in another car with another team. It’s nice to know that you can produce the same results in another situation.” Alice Powell agreed with Hill about new challenges, but also said that “you have to always look at your current situation as well. It is always a tough one, and I am sure Lewis’s decision was not an easy one to make!”
Jordan King made an interesting point, saying that “McLaren is a great team with a long pedigree and it’s hard to leave a team like that.”
My own feelings is that Hamilton was inevitably going to be leaving McLaren at some point or another. Hamilton had been at McLaren for six years, and continuing with McLaren at 2013 would have taken him into a seventh season. The problem with Hamilton, well not a problem, but rather a point worth making, is that he achieved so much in so little time that he did not have much else to achieve at McLaren. He won the Drivers’ Championship in his second season with McLaren, for him, there was not much else to achieve there.
There is the argument also that Hamilton will not do well next year. Even so, I think he is taking the option of “short term pain, long term gain” if the 2014 engine situation turns out to be a big advantage. A three year contract takes him to the end of 2015, although let us not forget that in recent time, Mika Hakkinen won his first championship in his sixth year at McLaren, Michael Schumacher won his third championship in year five at Ferrari, whilst Fernando Alonso won his championship in his third year at Renault. The point is that many will make rash and quick judgements after year 1, but in reality it will be a long term project for Hamilton and Mercedes like those mentioned above had. Once Hamilton has the team moulded around him in two years, then he can go for a championship.
The news last week that Formula One Management would be directing this weekend’s Japanese Grand Prix was greeted well by fans. What it meant today is that we were given a lot of new camera angles which made for some fantastic viewing. The new camera angles have been well placed as well to give a better sense of speed, such as at 130R where the direction change is telling. Trust me, if you haven’t see it yet, you will go “wow” the first time you see it. There seems to be as a lot more camera angles this year from FOM compared to previous years with Fuji Television, although that may just be an allusion from myself and not the actual truth.
One camera angle that I loved as well was the slow-mo camera angle of the cars at the final chicane, it distinctly reminded me actually of one of the shots in the F1 2012 game trailer, the shot looked “game like” rather than “real life like”. And that is a good thing in my opinion. They’ve definitely done a fantastic job with the camera angles this year in catching the raw speed and they should be applauded for it. No more hand held cameras this year!
Whilst I did love the camera angles, what I did not like was Sky’s director deciding to cut away from the World Feed and the stunning camera angles to show Natalie Pinkham interviewing a driver. I know what they look like, you don’t need to show me them, I can use my imagination to see what they look like. I first mentioned this in June, but this has been going on all season. There’s no need for it, unless someone is describing something critical, thus requiring a cut-away. Kimi Raikkonen’s KERS failure was a good example of a sensible cut-away from them. Their problem for me is that they have too many cameras. Too many times are we seeing FOM cut to pit-lane and next to them is a Sky person with a camera directed at the same driver. Why? It is a complete waste of resources when FOM are already doing an adequate job of capturing the action. Leave the “Sky cameras” to before and after the session when they are needed more.
The final point here concerns the Japanese fans. Despite the television audience declining, the hardcore faithful in Japan was as strong as ever. How many Grand Prix’s do you see probably in the region of 50,000+ for practice, probably more? Not many. Bahrain, Abu Dhabi, Korea and several more struggle to get that number for the race alone. So, why are we going to those races? To satisfy a few rich-hungry billionaires? Let’s go to countries where people want, crave and demand more Formula 1. I would happily see two Grand Prix’s in Japan or Australia if the grandstands are going to be full irrespective of session or day.
Tonight at 19:30 on Sky Sports F1, a new series profiling six young and rising stars begins. The series, aptly named “Britain’s Next F1 Star”, will follow the lives and stories of these future stars as they climb the racing ladder, and attempt to break the barrier into Formula 1. The series has been produced by USP Content, with Henry Hope-Frost narrating, and will air on Thursday evenings before a race weekend, with the final edition airing in the run-up to Brazilian Grand Prix. Scalextric will sponsor the series.
This blog will contain a brief synopsis of the six episodes, as well as a few quotes from each of the drivers.
Seb Morris
The first episode, to air tonight at 19:30, will profile Seb Morris. Morris, the youngest ever winner of the Junior Ginetta G40 Series hopes to become the first ever Welsh Formula 1 champion. So far, Morris has had the help of his Dad, who is a property developer, and his Mum. Although both of them, along with the rest of “Team Seb” have helped Morris get as far as he has got, there is one person that he looks up to.
“The first F1 race I ever watched was Michael Schumacher winning the Monaco Grand Prix in the early 2000’s. The urge to become a Formula 1 Driver was not simply inspired by watching others, but my own ambition. “ said Morris. Could we see, one day, Seb Morris as a Formula 1 driver, with a 50 year old Schumacher as team boss? Never say never. In five years time, however, Morris expects to be knocking on the door of GP2 or Formula Renault 3.5.
This year on the broadcasting side of things, Morris says that he “watch[es] the Sky Sports F1 coverage with extreme regularity, and I enjoy it immensely. It not only explains things for the newcomer to F1, but also goes into a great deal of analysis, so even a racing driver like me is mentally stretched watching the coverage!”
Jordan King
The episode leading into the Korean Grand Prix weekend focusses on Jordan King. King’s life did not start off well and at a young age he suffered cancer. Despite this, he overcame the hurdles placed in front of him to become the youngest ever Formula 2 racer in the modern era. King was also inspired to start off charity fund-raising events, with former cricketer Ian Botham joining him on walks to help raise money.
Whilst King does not remember the first Formula 1 race that he watched, he notes that the first Grand Prix he went to was the Italian Grand Prix, where he sat in the Jordan Formula 1 car! In five years time, King hopes that he will be entering the final phases of his first Formula 1 season.
Josh Hill
Episode 3 during the Indian Grand Prix race weekend looks as Josh Hill, the son of Damon Hill and the grandson of Graham Hill. The episode looks back at the Hill family legacy and looks forward into the future at how Josh is the third generation of Hill’s to come through the racing system. Joshua did not get into watching motor racing at an early age, however, and the first Grand Prix he watched was well known for what happened off the track, rather than the (lack of!) action on the track.
“The first race I can remember watching on TV was the 2005 US GP, mainly because my Dad was getting very excited by the situation the race was held in, but it didn’t really enthuse me about doing motor racing. When I first got interested in doing motor racing it was when my Dad drove me around Silverstone in a 2-seater GP Masters car.” says Josh, I would be lying if I was particularly surprised there! I don’t think many people would openly admit to watching that race. One race he can admit to watching is the 2011 Canadian Grand Prix, which Josh says was the greatest race that he has seen.
Commenting on the broadcasting this season, Josh says that when “F1 [is] on TV it’s always been on Sky, and it’s been very good overall. But then again I’m slightly biased!”
Alice Powell
The programme to première on the Thursday before the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix weekend will feature Alice Powell, who hopes to be racing in Formula 1 in a few years time, and hopes to become the first Formula 1 female Drivers’ Champion. Some people claim it cannot happen, however, she was the first female to win a Formula Renault BARC race, and she has been put in consistent performances this season in the GP3 Series. Tiff Chittenden also looks at her own Formula 1 journey in this programme and explains why there is definitely a career for females in motor sport.
Powell, like Morris in episode 1, is a big fan of Michael Schumacher and notes how she “proudly wore my red Ferrari hat and I was wrapped in my big Ferrari flag. I still have both of these items in my cupboard! It was just the excitement of the racing and the sounds and speed of the cars that made me want to become a Formula One driver, instantly”, comments Powell. Although I say a lot about the Formula 1 coverage in the UK in this blog, Powell for me makes the one overriding point that is extremely difficult to disagree with. Long may that continue, and who knows, maybe we will see Powell winning a race on BBC and Sky one day.
Talking about the BBC and Sky coverage this season, Powell does not pick a favourite, instead saying “I think that the coverage from both channels is fantastic, and we are so lucky, as a nation, to have brilliant TV coverages of the events! I am pretty sure that no other country has a great F1 coverage as us!”
Dean Smith
Smith, at 24, is one of the older drivers’ profiled in this series, his episode airing around the United States Grand Prix weekend. Being one of the older drivers is not an advantage though for Smith, as it means that the time left to pursue a Formula 1 seat is decreasing. Unlike other drivers in the world, Smith does not have the luxury of big sponsors. Essentially, this means that it is irrelevant how good he may be, but if the money is not there then the door into Formula 1 may not open, hence why he was dropped by Addax before the last round of the 2011 GP3 Series season.
The programme also follows Smith’s family, as a new bride and baby is on its way.
Alex Brundle
The final programme of the series, in the build-up to the Brazilian Grand Prix, looks at Alex Brundle, who is the son of Sky Sports F1 commentator Martin. Already in his young career, Brundle has done a lot in motor sport, including the GP3 Series and participating in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, a resume that not many other drivers have. However, Brundle says that “the Isle of Mann TT is still the greatest race on the planet”, so no doubt he may consider a switch to two wheels if the four wheels motor sport does not go to plan. Brundle is tipped for big things in Formula 1, not only from his Dad, but also from Martin Whitmarsh. Will Brundle follow in the footsteps of his father, Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button and race for McLaren one day? Time, shall tell.
Brundle notes that Formula 1 is not the barometer for success, and says that he would consider his career a success in five years, irrespective of what racing car he is driving. Commenting on his first Formula 1 memory, Brundle said that “The first experience I remember was watching my Dad break down in the final turns of the 1994 Hungarian GP and being absolutely gutted because I used to love it when he brought home a trophy!”
Below is a full list of times for the première editions of “Britain’s Next F1 Star”:
– Episode 1: Thursday 4th October, 19:30 – Seb Morris
– Episode 2: Thursday 11th October, 19:30 – Jordan King
– Episode 3: Thursday 25th October, 19:30 – Joshua Hill
– Episode 4: Thursday 1st November, 19:30 – Alice Powell
– Episode 5: Thursday 15th November, 19:30 – Dean Smith
– Episode 6: Thursday 22nd November, 19:30 – Alex Brundle
But will any of the six be “Britain’s Next F1 Star”? It is nearly time to find out…
…and you have not had a very good night’s sleep. It feels like it is Christmas Day. In the early hours, one of two things happen. Either, the alarm goes off at about 05:45 in the morning. If you hear that happen, success! Now, all you need to do is creep slowly down the stairs so you do not wake anyone else up. Once in the living room, you turn the television on and see the news on. Depending on which year in this time travel we are on, that will be either the BBC News or the ITV Morning News. You try to stay awake for the next ten minutes, until the clock hits 6am. Because when the clock hits 6am, depending on the year of course, you hear one of four things. Jamiroquai, “Blackbeat” by Apollo 440, “You Ain’t Seen Nothing Yet” by Bachman Turner Overdrive, “Lift Me Up” by Moby or “The Chain” by Fleetwood Mac. Of course by writing the above paragraph, I’m referring to one thing. The Japanese Grand Prix.
For this year, we have five early wake-ups. I’ve only been doing Australia early wake-ups since 2009 when Formula 1 returned to the BBC, but have been waking up early for the other flyaway race since 2000. There is, in my opinion, something special about waking up early for Japan. Unlike the other flyaway races over in the Asian continent, Suzuka is a racers circuit. It doesn’t have miles of tarmac. It hasn’t been bastardised. Mistakes over the years have been punished, such as at the two Degner curves, and on the whole the circuit today is identical to that of twenty years ago. And that is what we love about Suzuka. I would thoroughly hate if some of the gravel traps were torn up and replaced by tarmac run off areas.
Suzuka also, over the years, has held some fantastic championship deciders’. 1989 is the obvious one that strikes to mind as Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost came to blows as McLaren team-mates, the two collided at the final chicane. That moment, along with what followed twelve months later, are both etched forever in the history of this wonderful sport. Following that, we had 1996, where Damon Hill won the Japanese Grand Prix to claim his first Formula 1 championship. The moment also had one of Murray Walker’s famous commentary lines, which we are almost certain to hear in preview clips this weekend: “And I’ve got to stop… because I’ve got a lump in my throat!” Classic Walker, because it defines the moment. It makes it memorable. And that is what made Walker at his pinnacle the best commentator this sport has ever seen. We remember those classic lines, they are forever written in the memory and never erased.
It was four years later, however, that one my most memorable Japanese Grand Prix moments was created. The race in 2000 was the first Japanese Grand Prix that I made the effort to get up early for, at the young age of eight. The scenario will be remembered instantly by most fans reading this. It was Michael Schumacher vs Mika Hakkinen. The prize. The Formula 1 Drivers’ Championship. The race lived up to the hype, the expectation. The tension was there throughout, as Schumacher and Hakkinen put on a race to remember. On the Saturday, Schumacher grabbed pole by the closest of margins. On the Sunday, however, it was Hakkinen that got off the line quickest, leading Schumacher into turn 1. The race from there on forward was tension filled. Schumacher in second was always a few seconds behind Hakkinen, matching his every move, his every lap time. Hakkinen knew. One mistake or car failure, and it was all over. Jacques Villeneuve could tell him that, because that his fate versus Hill four years earlier. Hakkinen led going into the second round of pit-stops. But after they both made their second stop, it was Schumacher in front. And to the chequered flag, that is how it remained. Schumacher was champion. “And he exits the chicane for the 53rd and last time… to win, the 2000 Japanese Grand Prix… and the World Championship! For the third time!” Ah, the memories. Suzuka, over the decades, has provided many.
Being a race in Asia though, Japan was one race that generated less coverage in the UK due to it’s unfavourable time-zone. Before 1996, you would be lucky to see Qualifying broadcast live by BBC, in fact, race coverage for Japan would usually be provided with Steve Rider sitting in a London studio, before handing over to Murray Walker a minute of so later, a complete difference to the European races where Rider would go out to the respective countries and present live from the grid. ITV upped the coverage from 1997, by screening Qualifying and the Race live from Japan, with Jim Rosenthal presenting from Japan. That did not last long, however. A few years later, and ITV ditched Japan altogether, whilst UK viewers were left unamused as GMTV was deemed a more important priority that F1 Qualifying (in reality, GMTV owned the air-time from 06:00 to 09:25 which meant ITV would have to negotiate the air-time with GMTV beforehand). So the early 2000’s consisted on Rosenthal, Tony Jardine and Mark Blundell in London for Japan with Qualifying either being shown late on Saturday night, as was oddly the case in 2005, or during the afternoon.
The Japan round did also provide ITV with one of its more embarrassing advertising blunders. In 2006, the commercial network cut to a break just as Schumacher’s engine was failing. For me, that was probably one of the more agonising moments that I have had watching Formula 1! The emergence of Lewis Hamilton meant that Qualifying for Japan was back to live, as it was in ITV’s early years, thankfully for them no vital moments of the 2007 race was missed as they were on-air for the moment that Fernando Alonso’s McLaren met a tyre barrier heavily. The following year, ITV’s last covering Formula 1, had Martin Brundle doing the presenting, which is, to date, his first and last show he presented. I wonder if we will see him presenting more Formula 1 races in the future? As always, time, shall tell…
Or alternatively, none of the above takes place and you miss the alarm. It doesn’t go off. You don’t go downstairs. There is no Japanese Grand Prix live on BBC or ITV at 6am. No new memories are created. Japan has always, for me, been a magical race, and one where you must get up early, regardless of whether the championship has been decided or not. It is like a ritual, that must never be broken. Except, for a large part of the Formula 1 fan base in the UK this year, that ritual will be broken. As part of the rights deal between BBC and Sky, BBC-only viewers will not able to watch the Japanese Grand Prix live. Instead, they will have to wait five and a half hours after the race conclusion to see it. Yes, it may be at a more sociable time, it may mean you can enjoy your beauty sleep. But, for me, and for millions of other people out there, there really is nothing better than seeing Formula 1 live…. it is just a pity then, that those millions this year will be robbed of that opportunity…
1 – 475k – Live Singapore Grand Prix (Sunday, 11:00)
2 – 238k – Live Singapore Grand Prix: Qualifying (Saturday, 13:00)
3 – 95k – Live Singapore Grand Prix: Practice 3 (Saturday, 10:45)
4 – 73k – Live Singapore Grand Prix: Practice 2 (Friday, 14:15)
5 – 69k – Singapore Grand Prix Qualifying Replay (Saturday, 17:00)
6 – 69k – The F1 Show (Friday, 18:30)
7 – 58k – Live Singapore Grand Prix: Practice 1 (Friday, 10:45)
8 – 57k – Porsche Supercup: Italy (Sunday, 11:17)
9 – 55k – Porsche Supercup: Belgium (Saturday, 12:10)
10 – 53k – Live Singapore GP2 Sprint Race (Sunday, 09:35)
Not a bad set of figures there, in particular The F1 Show did better than usual in the Singapore Grand Prix weekend. I’m more interested though in how last Friday’s (28th September) edition did, it surely should be close to breaking 100k considering the Hamilton and Perez news earlier in the day. The race programme you may argue was poor, but I noted in my overnights ratings piece the competition, in the officials, the football from 13:00 to 15:30 had 2.07 million on Sky Sports 1.
Further down, the GP2 sprint race only just made the top 10, although Sky Sports would have probably been hoping for more than that for GP2. Hopefully they will promote it more next year.
Motorsport Broadcasting 