Following a request for comment from this blog last night to the BBC concerning Gary Anderson’s departure from the team and subsequent comments made by Anderson, the blog has today received the following statement from BBC’s Head of Formula 1, Ben Gallop.
Ben Gallop, BBC’s Head of F1 said: “We’ve adjusted our line-up for 2014 to bring what we feel is the best package for audiences across TV, radio and online. We’ve enjoyed working with Gary and thank him for his valued contribution to the BBC’s Formula 1 coverage across all platforms over the last two years and we wish him all the best for the future.”
Motorsport Broadcasting 
the best package is to leave out the best f1 tech man on tv. ben gallop has no clue does he?
I enjoy both Ted and Gary’s input on technical matters, I felt that Gary had the edge however. The BBC are making a huge mistake here. Ted’s main issue is his butterfly mind. He can be talking about the new engines one minute, then see a mate wandering down the paddock and start arranging a meal together, then move on to discuss how Red Bull’s new wheel but is based on the design of Vettel’s ear while never making his orginal point. I find his notebooks fascinating but I have to really focus to gather the main points. Gary, however, was knowledgable and to the point in an easy to understand way. I look forward to following his writing in Autosport.
What Ben Gallop feels and what the audience wants are two different things, it’s no good feeling what is needed without doing a survey as to what people actually want, Formula One supporters who follow the Grand Prix weekends through practice, qualifying and the race want good quality analysis of the technical questions of the moment, which is what Gary provided. Forget the viewers who only watch part of the race, which is presumably where Ben’s ‘feel’ came from, look after the real fans and give us back Gary.
this ben gallop guy comes out with so much rubbish.they havent changed the lineup at all apart from gary . mcnish will only be on radio i think like he was last year(for 6 races). and if they got rid of gary to bring in more casual viewers well that also rubbish.at the end of the day the same 3.5million people are going to watch it getting rid of gary isnt going to bump that up to 10 million is it.a casual viewer still has learn about tyres,fuel,kers,drs,weather etc to be able to enjoy watching and getting a basic understanding f1. how could the bbc screw everthing up so badly. from having perfect live coverage in 2011 to half the races with a terrible presenter and now no technical analysis for 2014. does ben gallop even look on twitter,forums or blogs infact im wonder if ben has actualy watched a race .
i’d agree with 2011 being a year of perfect coverage and fear uk f1 coverage will never reach that level of quality again. really enjoyed brundle and dc on comms and so did they. brundle seems a bit depressed that this was taken away from him as he’s not been the same since. at least we’ve got The Voice to watch instead of live f1 races……
I ‘m truly sorry, but the BBC production of F1 verges now on the comical. Suzi’s legs, DC’s jeans and EJ’s quips……they are not quite sure whether they are fronting premier motor racing or trying to emulate Top Gear……. SKY F1 was good in 2012, even better in 2013 once they dropped little mix -sorry – G Thompson.
Gary was probably the main reason I would tune into BBC coverage over Sky’s. Shocking decision and a lot more will probably feel the same.
I posted this in another piece about Anderson but I feel it’s worth a repost.
I would take issue with SW1’s view of Sky’s coverage, it was bumbling and lowbrow to start with and has drifted into self indulgent and lazy.
Anyway, my previous thoughts:-
‘I’m afraid this comes down to the ‘floating voter’ mentality.
Just like political parties don’t care about their hardcore supporters because they know they’ll have their support regardless, so broadcasters don’t care about the die hard fans.
They know we’ll be up in the middle of the night to watch the far off races, they know we’re the ones that want the technical items.
What they care about is the floating, occasional ‘sun reader’ viewer that doesn’t want technical information, they want shots of Nicole Scherzinger, Lewis’s dog or Perry in leather trousers.
That’s why the BBC don’t want Anderson.’.
“Sun reader” – spot on polblagger!
It’s a shame that ITV won’t take up coverage of F! again. They can’t mess it up anyone than Mr Gallop. Does he really know what F1 is? May be he could ask Gary to explain to him.
Whilst i quite enjoy seeing Suzi in leathers, I do often want to know if all Renault power plants are identical, are teams allowed their own engine software upgrades, how do the wheel nuts thread on so quickly, what do the status lights on the top of the camera pod mean, what do all those steering whel buttons do…… all right just show Suzi in tight jeans and I’ll turn the sound down!
What’s the next cut? Will we only see Monaco and Silverstone next year?
If F1 is meant to be about cutting edge technology and engineering, how come the BBC gets rid of the best technical expert on the team?
You have to be very knowledgeable to explain technical things but to do it in a way the general public can understand requires genius. Bring back Gary with his sketch pad.
The new regulations make it impossible to tell who is ‘leading’ until all the strategies have worked through and putting an overtake button on the steering wheel takes little skill and adds nothing to the excitement. I have taken to watching the start, having a nap and waking up for the last five laps. It’s surprising how little you miss.
MotoGP is everything F1 isn’t, modern day gladiators risking life and limb and dueling from flag to flag. Didn’t the BBC got rid of MotoGP last year?
RIP BBC coverage of world class motorsport.
Big mistake. In New Zealand the coverage is at best average, but there is no technical expertin the most technical sport on earth. Well done to ben galot. He knows his customers NOT!