Predicting Channel 4’s Formula 1 team (part 3)

The series of posts predicting Channel 4’s Formula 1 team comes to a conclusion with part three, as The F1 Broadcasting Blog looks at the role of technical expert.

To recap, parts one and two focussed on the other roles within Channel 4’s setup. So far, I have predicted the following:

– Presenter: Suzi Perry
– Magazine: Jake Humphrey
– Commentator: Ben Edwards
– Commentator / Analyst: David Coulthard
– Pit Lane: Nicki Shields
– Analyst: Eddie Jordan
– Analyst: Allan McNish

Admittedly that line-up looks like a repeat of BBC’s talent shop from 2012 to 2015, as well as having Jake Humphrey back in the fray. The exception is Nicki Shields, who is currently pit lane reporter for the electric Formula E championship. It looks like Lee McKenzie will not be part of Channel 4’s team based on her recent tweets, hence me placing Shields as pit lane reporter. You could argue that such a line-up would be unimaginative, but you have to ask how Channel 4 can improve on the current BBC line-up. In my opinion, ‘ripping it out from the core’ is not the answer, but comments have varied. On the whole, the audience liked BBC’s coverage and I will be shocked if there is not some element of ex-BBC in the Channel 4 line-up.

The last role to look at surrounds the position of technical expert. The technical role is similar to that of pit lane reporter, but the two should not be confused. Whilst they may be positioned in similar locations within the paddock, the purpose of the technical expert is to update viewers on the upgrades that teams may have chosen and to show viewers around the new formula from a DNA perspective. It is important that the person chosen for this role has technical understanding of the sport.

Before we look at the candidates, there will no doubt be a question about the necessity of the role. In my opinion, it is critical that there is a technical view point represented in Channel 4’s Formula 1 coverage. As I have discussed previously, experts such as James Allen, Ted Kravitz and Gary Anderson have helped convey the information towards the casual audience. It is important that the audience watching appreciates the technical element of motor racing.  Yes, we watch for the overtaking and the personalities, but we also watch to see the technical advances that Formula 1 is making in the wider world.

One of the failures of BBC F1 was to part ways with Gary Anderson in early 2014, and then (according to Anderson) make the claim that viewers are not interested in technical analysis. In a poll conducted on this blog, 71 percent believed that BBC’s coverage needed a technical expert. As good as Tom Clarkson was in 2014 and 2015, he was no match for Anderson through no fault of his own. Although as Anderson himself said following the 2015 Japanese Grand Prix: “The casual viewers is where the big viewing numbers are and many of them don’t give a damn about what’s under the bonnet of an F1 car.” We could debate this all day, but if Channel 4 are to be taken seriously, then there needs to be some technical element.

So, who are the contenders for a technical analyst role with Channel 4?

Craig Scarborough – The popular technical writer has been talking about motor racing for print and television since the early 2000s, writing for publications such as AUTOSPORT and F1 Racing. To date, Scarborough has yet to appear on terrestrial television with a UK broadcaster covering Formula 1. He has made sporadic appearances with on the Midweek Report show on Sky Sports F1, alongside working for foreign broadcasters. If you’re looking for someone who has television experience and can convey information to a casual audience, Scarborough is likely to be one person on Channel 4’s technical list.

Gary Anderson – As I noted above, the former Jordan technical director appeared on BBC’s Formula 1 programming in 2012 and 2013. Anderson currently writes for AUTOSPORT answering readers’ questions. From reading his series of posts with AUTOSPORT, it appears Anderson was not in the paddock during 2015 and was commenting from far afield. My gut instinct is that, even if he is asked, Anderson will not return to the broadcasting fray.

Mark Priestley – A former McLaren mechanic from 2000 to 2009, Priestley has been a regular in the broadcasting scene over the past few years. Priestley was one of the highlights in Sky Sports F1’s live pre-season testing coverage in 2013 and has since been part of ITV’s Formula E coverage as a regular studio guest. I’d like to see Priestley part of Channel 4’s team purely because there is a lot that he can bring to the programming, along with being a fresh voice that viewers have not heard before. Priestley has the added advantage of having been part of the inner dealings with a world championship team.

Ross Brawn – Benetton, Ferrari, Brawn and Mercedes. Technical director and team owner. His CV stands alongside Adrian Newey in terms of what they have achieved in Formula 1, which makes Brawn a contender for a role at Channel 4. Brawn has not been part of the Formula 1 paddock since the end of 2013, but would bring with him a huge amount of expertise from his decades’ worth of dealings in the Grand Prix world. My personal opinion is that Brawn would choose to stay away from the paddock if he was approached by Channel 4, but don’t rule out the odd appearance here and there depending on what other programming the station plan on airing.

Tom Clarkson – A familiar face covering Formula 1 for Australian television, Clarkson initially joined the BBC F1 team half way through the 2012 season deputising for Lee McKenzie. Clarkson became a full time member of the BBC team in 2013 alongside McKenzie in the pit lane, eventually covering the technical side of Formula 1 in 2014 and 2015 with Anderson now absent. If Clarkson is not part of Channel 4’s team, I don’t think it would be a major loss. As a pit lane reporter he is good, but he should not be a technical analyst in my opinion, unless Channel 4 run out of options from those already discussed above.

There are not many candidates to fill the technical role. Out of the five above, I would narrow it down to two people: Scarborough or Priestley. For me, Priestley edges it because he has experience within a top tier Formula 1 team. Therefore…

The F1 Broadcasting Blog predicts: Marc Priestley to become Channel 4’s Formula 1 technical analyst.

Which means that my predicted Channel 4 line-up is as follows:

– Presenter: Suzi Perry
– Magazine: Jake Humphrey
– Commentator: Ben Edwards
– Commentator / Analyst: David Coulthard
– Pit Lane: Nicki Shields
– Analyst: Eddie Jordan
– Analyst: Allan McNish
– Analyst (Technical): Marc Priestley

In there, you have your recognisable front three faces from the BBC, along with some new blood in Shields and Priestley. For the lead commentator and technical analyst roles, there are not many candidates, which leaves Channel 4 with not many options, whereas there is a vast array of talent to become either presenter or analyst. It will be fascinating to see how the line-up unfolds over the coming weeks as we uncover more clues on the road to Melbourne.