Brundle suffered “small heart attack” following Monaco Grand Prix

Sky’s lead Formula 1 analyst Martin Brundle has revealed that he suffered a “small heart attack” following the 2016 Monaco Grand Prix.

Speaking to Toby Moody at the AUTOSPORT Show, Brundle said: “I had a small heart attack running to do the podium in Monaco. I ended up with a 23mm stent in my left artery descending (LAD) I believe. I didn’t think I could do the race [Le Mans] and the cardio guy said to me ‘yeah, you can do the race, just don’t forget the blood thinners.'”

Hearing Brundle talk about his heart attack was remarkable, just two weeks before winning at Le Mans in the LMP3 support race. We knew at the time that Brundle had a medical procedure, we just did not know the extraordinary circumstances behind it.

Brundle also reflected on his current status with Sky and his move to the channel in 2012: “It took me a long time to take the decision to leave the BBC and go to Sky. Sky demonstrated to me that they were totally committed to the future of covering Formula 1 and they’ve stood by that, they’ve grown it much bigger than I ever thought they would.”

“I didn’t think BBC were committed and that proved to be the case, so that was a smart move for me. I love having the scope of so much live television. Live television gets my juices flowing and the adrenaline flowing,” Brundle said.

Channel 4 and Sky confirm 2017 scheduling details

Channel 4 and Sky Sports have today confirmed their 2017 Formula One calendar picks. The picks are as follows:

2017 Schedule Details
March 27th – Australia (Melbourne) – Sky
April 9th – China (Shanghai) – Sky
April 16th – Bahrain (Sakhir) – Channel 4 and Sky
April 30th – Russia (Sochi) – Channel 4 and Sky
May 14th – Spain (Barcelona) – Sky
May 28th – Monaco (Monaco) – Channel 4 and Sky
June 11th – Canada (Montreal) – Sky
June 25th – Europe (Baku) – Channel 4 and Sky
July 9th – Austria (Red Bull Ring) – Sky
July 16th – Britain (Silverstone) – Channel 4 and Sky
July 30th – Hungary (Budapest) – Sky
August 27th – Belgium (Spa) – Channel 4 and Sky
September 3rd – Italy (Monza) – Sky
September 17th – Singapore (Marina Bay) – Channel 4 and Sky
October 1st – Malaysia (Sepang) – Channel 4 and Sky
October 8th – Japan (Suzuka) – Sky
October 22nd – USA (Circuit of the Americas) – Channel 4 and Sky
October 29th – Mexico (Mexico City) – Sky
November 12th – Brazil (Interlagos) – Sky
November 26th – Abu Dhabi (Yas Marina) – Channel 4 and Sky

Other than the picks themselves, the main piece of news to come out of the press releases is that Channel 4’s live races will continue to air uninterrupted from lights out to chequered flag, which is great news for fans. Neither press release mentions personnel details, I would expect any changes to be announced closer to the start of the season.

Sky’s press release is the usual format, the corporation touting heavily the launch of Formula 1 in ultra high-definition. The press release also mentions some of their usual supplementary programming such as GP2, GP3 and The F1 Report (which has essentially now replaced The F1 Show).

Channel 4’s Head of F1 Stephen Lyle said: “Following a thrilling first year covering Formula One, we’re delighted to reveal our schedule for the 2017 season. Once again our team will bring extensive coverage of every race with The Monaco Grand Prix, Great Britain and the finale in Abu Dhabi among our ten Live race weekends. It’s a particular delight to welcome Monaco back to terrestrial television Live, for the first time in five years.”

Sky’s Head of F1 Martin Turner said: “With UHD it’s Formula 1 like you’ve never seen it before. It will be the hardest, fastest, loudest season in years with new rules, new cars, new engines and new, massive tyres. From the opening Grand Prix of the year to the season’s home-stretch, Sky Sports F1 remains the definitive place for fans to see every twist and turn of the season.”

Compared to my predictions post, I managed to get 12 out of the 20 picks correct, which is not bad, a bit less than last year mind! My prediction was that Channel 4 would pick Canada after Britain and Abu Dhabi. Instead, it looks like that either USA or Monaco as their third pick, with the other being their fourth pick. The picks are a big change compared to the past few years. It is the first time Monaco has been live on free-to-air television since 2012, and the first for Singapore since 2013. It’s also the first time the US Grand Prix is airing live on free-to-air television since it returned to the calendar, which is really good news in my view.

Looking ahead to 2017

I can’t promise that 2017 in the motor racing broadcasting world will be as interesting as 2016 has been now that the dust has settled on the next round of Formula 1’s television rights in the United Kingdom. However, there is still enough to intrigue as 2017 kicks into life.

The yearly Channel 4 and Sky television picks for the upcoming season should be revealed in the first half of January, as we find out which races Channel 4 will be screening live and which ones they will be airing in highlights form. Alongside that, there is also the question of whether we will see any changes to either team. This is a bigger question than most years given that three high-profile drivers retired at the end of 2016. Will Jenson Button, Nico Rosberg or Felipe Massa be lured towards either Channel 4, Sky or the BBC’s radio coverage?

2017 will see Formula 1 air in ultra HD for the first time. In many parts of the world, standard high-definition (HD) is still not the norm and I still watch Formula 1’s races on Sky Sports in standard definition (SD). So, whether Formula 1 is aired in ultra HD or not, doesn’t make much difference to me. However, the ongoing technological advancements as Liberty Media come on-board should be closely followed.

We are expecting an upgraded Formula 1 app in 2017, with live on-board footage present for the first time. I expect this to be geo-blocked in the UK and elsewhere, but for those countries that can receive it (assuming plans come to fruition), this will be a great addition to the product. Elsewhere, we might hear news about BT Sport’s MotoGP rights deal which is due to expire at the end of 2018. All of the above, and the usual pieces of news, viewing figures and scheduling information (and who knows what more) coming up on this site in 2017.

Steady as she goes, Sky Sports F1’s 2016 season reviewed

Each year when I write the season reviews for the BBC, Sky and Channel 4, I try to find something new to say. Some new insight or opinion about what new areas the broadcasters have tackled, or not as the case may be. The on-screen product should always evolve year-on-year with little tweaks here and there. But, this season it is tricky to say too much about Sky Sports F1 that hasn’t already been said.

Anyone who has read this blog will be able to accurately predict without reading further that I’m going to mention the lack of material outside of race weekends and that the team, led by Martin Brundle and Anthony Davidson, needs a shake-up. It is the same story as we head towards 2017. It is surprising that Sky did not try new things, especially against new opposition in the form of Channel 4. Nevertheless, there were some changes compared to 2015 which is worth digesting.

Closer collaboration with Formula One Management
On the backdrop of a new deal with Formula 1’s media group to cover Formula 1 up to and including 2024, it was clear in 2016 that the working relationship between Sky and Formula One Management (FOM) was closer than before, the partnership spanning all of Sky’s broadcasting arms.

The main change in this area focussed on new virtual graphics that were provided by FOM for the Sky Pad, which were featured twice during the 2016 season. The graphics helped demonstrate the different braking points between Fernando Alonso and Esteban Gutierrez prior to their horror smash at the Australian Grand Prix. FOM also provided special graphics for the incident between Daniel Ricciardo and Sebastian Vettel at the Mexican Grand Prix. I hope we see more of these graphics going forward as they help put into perspective how much of a difference even ten meters can make in some cases.

There has also been greater access to Bernie Ecclestone this year, unintentionally or not. The aura around him in recent years has reduced compared to the mid-2000s, and the aura was reduced further with what Martin Brundle described as one of the best features in his twenty years of making Formula 1 television. Brundle went to Ecclestone’s pad prior to the Brazilian Grand Prix for an excellent extended interview which aired standalone on the channel prior to the Christmas period.

Whilst closer collaboration is good, Sky have been unable to unlock FOM’s rich video vault which continues to limit the content that they can produce outside of race weekends. FOM are doing work themselves in this space, but it would make sense for Sky to assist where possible to bring new content to their audience. Tales from the Vault promised ‘unseen’ footage but failed to deliver, and other shows on the channel have regurgitated footage that has already been seen. Let’s have new angles and insight of past incidents. The footage does exist, it simply has not been exploited to a wide audience yet.

Stable team for Sky’s fifth season
Sky’s on-air team has barely changed since the channel launched in 2012. The only notable changes have been the departure of Georgie Thompson prior to the 2013 season and Paul di Resta becoming a regular fixture since he lost his Formula 1 drive. Apart from that, the team has been static. I find that disappointing considering Channel 4 grabbed the likes of Karun Chandhok and Mark Webber, suggesting Sky never went for either guy or both of them rejected Sky. The rhetoric “if it isn’t broke, don’t fix it” only works for so many years before a shake-up is needed.

Simon Lazenby has presented every race since 2012. At this stage, Lazenby is more Jim Rosenthal than Jake Humphrey in appearance, a good presenter. Lazenby comes across as presenting Formula 1 because “that’s his job” rather than someone who enjoys the intrinsic nature of the sport, whereas Humphrey and now Steve Jones clearly enjoy the paddock atmosphere. That’s how it comes across on-screen to the viewer watching the programme, in my opinion.

On the punditry side, as I’ve said before, Anthony Davidson and Martin Brundle are the highlights, standing head and shoulders above the rest of the line-up. Brundle is still one of the best analysts in the business, and Sky would be much weaker without him as we saw in the Canadian and Baku rounds in June. di Resta was an okay replacement as co-commentator alongside David Croft, but di Resta is not someone I see permanently in that role.

Ted Kravitz’s Notebook was its usual good self during 2016, although I didn’t watch every edition this season purely because of timing: with 21 races, it meant that not everything was consumed every weekend. I generally enjoyed Kravitz’s contributions, but would like to see Mark Priestley continue to be used more into 2017.

Priestley presented the weekly F1 Report and did appear during Sky’s main programming in the latter part of the season. I’d like to see him and Kravitz work on technical features together during 2017 detailing the various car changes. One of Sky’s highlights of 2016 was a fantastic piece between Priestley and Alex Zanardi, detailing Zanardi as he turned 50 years old. I would encourage readers to go out their way to watch the piece if you haven’t done so yet.

Unfortunately, I didn’t like the direction given for the pen interviews this season. At multiple junctions, this season, it felt like Sky were trying to bait either Nico Rosberg or Lewis Hamilton into giving a provocative response to questions for headlines. This line of journalism rarely works and will only lead to the interviewee clamouring up. If anything, the neutral approach should be taken so that more detail can be deciphered from the driver. It’s easy to blame the interviewer (Rachel Brookes) but actually the directive would have come from an editorial level at Sky.

Supplementary programming makes brief off-season return
In a season where Sky produced no new episodes of F1 Legends or Tales from the Vault, I was not expecting much new content to appear during the post-season period. Nevertheless, a few extended cuts did appear featuring Brundle’s interview with Bernie Ecclestone and an amalgamation of the various James Hunt pieces that have aired this season. A Journalist’s Special, combined with a quickly turned around special to mark Nico Rosberg’s retirement meant that Sky Sports F1 has looked busier than usual since the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

What is unclear is whether Sky plan to continue in the same vein for 2017. 2016 saw The F1 Show cut down to just 30 minutes for each race weekend, with the F1 Report moving to a weekly format. Personally, I think the F1 channel has been worse off a result this season. The F1 Report was good, but the calibre of guests was not enough for me to tune in on a weekly basis. The moment viewers are trained to miss an episode, and you have potentially lost them forever.

Cost-cutting meant less documentaries throughout the season. There was so much scope for a 1996 retrospective strand considering three people in their team were involved in that season, and one of them was world champion! A few features did air during Sky’s race day coverage, but no stand-alone programming which was a huge disappointment. The features that did air could have been expanded upon. An inherent problem Sky have (and it continued in 2016) was that features were being hyped up far too much and failed to deliver. In some instances, there was more hype than the length of the feature itself which is ridiculous when you think about it.

Overall, 2016 has been a good year for Sky. Steady, stable and solid are all words that I would describe Sky’s coverage in 2016. Do they plan to change things for 2017? I can’t see it happening. Do things need to change? I don’t think they will see any real gain in change for the sake of change. In my opinion, Sky need to find ways to make their coverage fresh and cutting edge. After all, Sky are the ones that will be broadcasting every race exclusively live from 2019 onwards. The ‘fresh and cutting edge’ broadcaster are not words that I associate with Sky in 2016, but instead with the opposition, something that needs to change as we head towards 2019.

Channel 4 F1 vs Sky Sports F1: Your 2016 Verdict Revealed

2016 saw a wave of change in the Formula 1 broadcasting world, with the BBC announcing its television exit at the end of 2015 and Channel 4 stepping into the fray. As usual, this site has had feedback on the coverage of both Channel 4 and Sky during 2016, and positives can be picked out from both sides.

The popular opinion amongst readers is that Channel 4’s Formula 1 coverage has started off brightly, with some wishing that Channel 4 and Whisper are able to continue covering Formula 1 in some form beyond 2018.

Channel 4’s coverage has been excellent, I would love them to continue after 2019. – Tom

Given the relatively short amount of time C4 had to prepare, I think they have little to be disappointed about, which makes it all the more frustrating that from 2019, no live coverage. – davidd93

In particular, the revolving punditry received praise from the likes of James Hurrell and Naz, with multiple commenters noting how the mix of pundits from Susie Wolff to Eddie Jordan was right for the programming. Steve Jones was liked by the majority of readers. TMD_NASCAR noted that Jones settled in well whilst others added that the relationship on-screen between Jones and David Coulthard is excellent.

Channel 4’s coverage on the other hand has been like a breath of fresh air, with Steve Jones’s role and his banter with DC, key to the whole tone of their presentation. They don’t give Karun Chandhok enough airtime, but he still manages to always fill it with key points and predictions and his knowledge is incredible. – Golly

Channel 4’s graphics were largely praised by rosswilliamquinn and TMD_NASCAR, although steven felt that they would have suited 2006 more than 2016. One element that received criticism from multiple people was the ‘missing pundits’ as davidd93 correctly pointed out.

I do need to raise one point – missing presenters from the announcement.

Where was Nic Hamilton?

Where was Bruno Senna? (I only remember seeing him during the opening sequence of Brazil)

Where was Alain Prost (I only remember seeing him during one race weekend, but I can’t remember which one)

I’m not including Alex Zanardi since even before the first race, he basically denied any involvement, despite C4’s announcement.

As they were part of the C4 announcement, I was expecting more from all of the above as part of the rotational basis, but I was disappointed that that never materialised.

The second point of criticism concerned the lack of ‘in-depth analysis’ according to James Hurrell, with simonhullf going as far to as calling Channel 4’s output ‘dumbed down’.

Over on Sky, one of the main people praised was Simon Lazenby. Lazenby annoyed ThomasJPitts less in 2016, with simonhullf comparing him to a familiar name…

I think Simon Lazenby has really grown on me – he’s the modern day Jim Rosenthal – very solid, and most often asking the right questions. The much improved chemistry between Lazenby, Herbert and Hill has really helped.

A few readers noted that whilst Sky’s line-up has been around for a while, and opinions differ on whether this is a good thing.

I’ve been a hardcore viewer of Sky’s F1 coverage since the very beginning and have to say on the whole I’ve been very impressed with their coverage this season. I would agree that Sky’s lineup is becoming stale, but without a doubt Ted Kravitz, Martin Brundle and Anthony Davidson are the gems. – simonhullf

The rest of the team are their usual high quality, even if it does feel a bit stale now, 5 (?) seasons in. – ThomasJPitts

In terms of Sky, I’m bored of Lazenby, Herbert and Hill. Too stale and far too matey in the way they interact. – stevvy

The commentary line-up of David Croft and Martin Brundle received widespread praise with readers noting that Brundle is still the best commentator out there. Sky did receive the (now usual) criticism about their content outside of the weekend decreasing along with overhyping features, this being noted by stevvy, simonhullf and Rob Bortkiewicz.

Elsewhere, the BBC’s radio coverage received compliments from blog readers, in particular theirb podcast.

Five Live coverage has been good (although hidden away from the radio itself too often) – the dynamic between Tom Clarkson and Jack Nicholls is good in the absence of Allan McNish and it makes for an entertaining listen. – DC

As a group they actually seem to be having the most fun and have the most passion and aren’t afraid to argue their points with each other. Their post race review show/podcast is a staple of my Monday mornings providing a little more insight on the event and any fallout from long after C4 and Sky have packed up and gone. – James Hurrell

There is a lot more opinions on the post itself, including some 2017 suggestions for Sky and Channel 4 (most include the word ‘Jenson’) which is worth a read, as always the above is just a taster of feedback on the site.