Q&A with the voice of Sky Sports F1 - David Croft

Matt Baker is joined this week by Sky Sports’ very own David Croft for a special Q&A.

He discusses why he chose the life of a sports commentator (01:50), how he prepares himself for race weekends (12:34), and the most memorable races he's covered in his career so far (28:32).

Crofty also explains what changes to the rules in F1 he would make to ensure more competitive racing (45:25), as well as revealing what he loves most about his job (54:23)

# Formula One Commentary: A Conversation with David Croft

## Navigating the World of Formula One Commentary

Matt Baker engages in a captivating conversation with Sky Sports' David Croft, delving into the world of Formula One commentary. Croft's journey in the field, his preparation process, memorable races, and insights on the sport's evolution are explored.

### Croft's Commentary Journey

Croft's passion for sports commentary began early on, even facing discouragement from his English teacher. He pursued his dream, working in various sports before finding his niche in Formula One.

### Preparation and Race Day Routine

Croft's preparation for race weekends is meticulous. He spends time studying driver statistics, creating track maps, and gathering information to enhance his storytelling. His routine involves attending press conferences, conducting interviews, and immersing himself in the paddock to gain insights and perspectives.

### Memorable Race Experiences

Croft shares his most memorable race experiences, including his first commentary in Bahrain, the 2008 Monza Grand Prix with Sebastian Vettel's victory, and the 2019 Azerbaijan Grand Prix, where he reached his 250th race milestone.

### Challenges of Formula One Commentary

Croft highlights the challenges of Formula One commentary, emphasizing the need to keep up with the fast-paced action, navigate the complexities of the sport, and maintain a balance between technical analysis and storytelling.

### Evolution of Formula One

Croft discusses the evolution of Formula One, noting the increased popularity of the sport and the changes in car designs and regulations over the years. He emphasizes the importance of adapting to these changes and embracing new technologies to enhance the viewing experience.

### Potential Rule Changes

Croft shares his thoughts on potential rule changes that could improve the competitiveness and excitement of Formula One. He suggests tweaks to the qualifying format and the introduction of reverse grids to create more unpredictable races.

### Favorite Commentary Box and Worst Views

Croft reveals his favorite commentary box as the one in China, offering a panoramic view of the track and pit lane. He mentions the condemned boxes in Monza and some challenging experiences in India, where the commentary rooms lacked proper views.

### Self-Critique and Iconic Lines

Croft admits to critiquing his own commentary, sometimes wishing he had said certain lines during races. He acknowledges the iconic lines that have become synonymous with Formula One, such as "Lights out and away we go!"

### Recording the Formula One Game

Croft discusses his involvement in recording lines for the Formula One game, highlighting the collaborative process with game developers. He emphasizes the importance of delivering lines naturally and capturing the essence of the sport's excitement.

### Conclusion: A Thrilling Experience

Croft concludes the conversation by expressing his love for Formula One commentary, describing it as a thrilling experience that allows him to share the sport's passion with viewers worldwide.

# Podcast Episode Summary:

## "Matt Baker and David Croft: A Formula One Q&A"

### Key Points
- Matt Baker and Sky Sports' David Croft engage in a Q&A session, discussing various aspects of Croft's career in Formula One commentary.

- Croft highlights the challenges of recording commentary lines for the F1 video games, emphasizing the need for precision and consistency.

- Croft shares his most memorable race experiences, including the 2011 Canadian Grand Prix, the 2008 Silverstone race, and the 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

- He reflects on the emotional rollercoaster of commentating on Jules Bianchi's tragic accident and Roman Grosjean's fiery crash in Bahrain.

- Croft expresses his admiration for legendary commentators like Murray Walker, Martin Tyler, and John Motson, acknowledging their influence on his own style.

- He discusses his favorite sports commentators in other sports, including Steve Cram, Peter O'Sullivan, and Sid Waddell.

- Croft emphasizes the importance of building a strong working relationship with co-commentators, citing his successful partnership with Martin Brundle.

- He recalls the moment he and Brundle learned they would be working together for Sky Sports F1 coverage.

- Croft shares his experience driving a 2013 Renault Lotus F1 car, describing the exhilarating sensation of speed and the immense skill required to operate such a machine.

- He reflects on potential changes to F1 rules to enhance competitiveness, suggesting a separation of sprint and Grand Prix championships and a reduction in the number of races.

- Croft expresses his love for heavy metal music and his admiration for bands like Skin Dread and Periphery.

- He highlights the unique experience of meeting celebrities and musicians in the Formula One paddock, sharing his excitement at meeting Vince Neil of Mötley Crüe and Lars Ulrich of Metallica.

- Croft concludes by expressing his passion for his job and the privilege of commentating on Formula One races, emphasizing the importance of capturing the emotions and drama of the sport.

### Overall Message:
David Croft's journey as a Formula One commentator is marked by his dedication, passion, and appreciation for the sport. He recognizes the immense talent of F1 drivers and the challenges they face, while also acknowledging the role of commentators in bringing the excitement and drama of the races to fans around the world.

# David Croft: The Voice of Formula One

## Introduction

In this special Q&A episode, Matt Baker sits down with David Croft, the legendary Sky Sports F1 commentator, to delve into his life and career in Formula One. Croft shares his passion for the sport, his preparation for race weekends, and the most memorable races he's covered. He also offers his insights on potential rule changes to enhance the competitiveness of F1 and expresses his love for his job.

## Choosing a Life in Sports Commentary

Croft's journey into sports commentary began with his love for Formula One. He was drawn to the sport's unpredictable nature and the thrill of live broadcasting. Croft's passion for F1 and his natural talent for commentary led him to pursue a career in the field.

## Preparing for Race Weekends

Croft's preparation for race weekends is meticulous and comprehensive. He studies the tracks, analyzes driver and team performances, and conducts extensive research to stay up-to-date with the latest developments in the sport. Croft believes that thorough preparation is essential for delivering insightful and engaging commentary during the races.

## Memorable Races

Over the course of his career, Croft has witnessed and commentated on some of the most iconic races in Formula One history. He recalls the 2008 Brazilian Grand Prix, where Lewis Hamilton secured the world championship in dramatic fashion, as one of his most memorable races. Croft also mentions the 2012 European Grand Prix, where Fernando Alonso's stunning victory showcased his exceptional driving skills.

## Potential Rule Changes

Croft believes that certain rule changes could enhance the competitiveness of Formula One. He suggests reducing the reliance on downforce and increasing the importance of mechanical grip. Croft also advocates for a more equitable distribution of prize money among the teams to foster a more level playing field.

## The Love for the Job

Croft's love for his job is evident in his enthusiasm and passion for Formula One. He cherishes the unpredictability and surprises that each race weekend brings. Croft also values the camaraderie and teamwork among the Sky Sports F1 crew, who work tirelessly to deliver high-quality coverage to fans around the world.

## Conclusion

David Croft's journey in Formula One is a testament to his dedication, passion, and expertise. His insights and perspectives on the sport offer a unique glimpse into the world of F1 commentary. Croft's love for his job and his commitment to delivering engaging and informative commentary make him one of the most respected and beloved voices in Formula One.

[00:00.000 -> 00:07.880] Hello everyone, welcome to the Sky Sports F1 podcast with me, Matt Baker.
[00:07.880 -> 00:13.880] And for this one, I've managed to pin down David Croft for a bonus summer Q&A.
[00:13.880 -> 00:14.880] Yeah.
[00:14.880 -> 00:15.880] Yeah.
[00:15.880 -> 00:16.880] Bonus summer Q&A.
[00:16.880 -> 00:17.880] That's what we're going to go with.
[00:17.880 -> 00:21.720] So basically, we're recording this on the same day that we recorded the end of term
[00:21.720 -> 00:23.040] half season report podcast.
[00:23.040 -> 00:24.040] Correct.
[00:24.040 -> 00:25.920] Hence, I'm still in the same outfit.
[00:25.920 -> 00:28.240] And when you're watching this,
[00:28.240 -> 00:30.080] I'll be somewhere in the Mediterranean
[00:30.080 -> 00:32.200] and Matt will be camping in Cornwall.
[00:32.200 -> 00:34.960] Well, yeah, well, maybe if the weather's good,
[00:34.960 -> 00:36.880] such as our English weather.
[00:36.880 -> 00:38.800] And there's all sorts of things
[00:38.800 -> 00:40.320] I wanna get into with you, Crofty.
[00:40.320 -> 00:42.240] And we've gotten a load of questions from people at home.
[00:42.240 -> 00:43.560] So thank you very much for sending in those.
[00:43.560 -> 00:45.440] I'll try and get through as many as possible.
[00:45.440 -> 00:47.920] And I want to just go through your career,
[00:47.920 -> 00:49.240] I want to talk about how it all began,
[00:49.240 -> 00:51.720] and also we've got plenty of questions in about F1 now,
[00:51.720 -> 00:54.040] and maybe as well the future of Formula One too.
[00:54.040 -> 00:56.800] But, I thought I'd start off with some maths, okay?
[00:56.800 -> 00:59.440] Because I was doing some research on you.
[00:59.440 -> 01:03.120] Now on your Wikipedia, it says that your 250th race
[01:03.120 -> 01:07.320] was in Azerbaijan in 2019, and I did also cross-check this
[01:07.320 -> 01:08.560] with your own Twitter,
[01:08.560 -> 01:10.140] which I think you did celebrate that as well.
[01:10.140 -> 01:14.960] So, I make Belgium your 340th Grand Prix.
[01:14.960 -> 01:16.480] Is that correct?
[01:16.480 -> 01:17.620] Don't know if you keep count.
[01:17.620 -> 01:20.040] Yeah, it is, it's easy to keep count.
[01:20.040 -> 01:22.680] I am Alpha Tauri minus one.
[01:22.680 -> 01:23.520] Right.
[01:23.520 -> 01:24.340] Okay, brilliant.
[01:24.340 -> 01:26.680] Bahrain 2006 was my first race.
[01:26.680 -> 01:29.400] And Toro Rosso made their debut then as well.
[01:29.400 -> 01:31.240] And I've had one race off since then
[01:31.240 -> 01:33.120] when my eldest son was born.
[01:33.120 -> 01:34.480] Pretty good reason to miss the race, isn't it?
[01:34.480 -> 01:35.880] I thought it was not so bad.
[01:35.880 -> 01:37.920] Murray Walker stood in for me,
[01:37.920 -> 01:40.600] and Daniel, who was three days old,
[01:40.600 -> 01:42.760] was in my arms as we watched the race.
[01:42.760 -> 01:43.600] It was a lovely moment.
[01:43.600 -> 01:44.440] Wouldn't miss the race, of course.
[01:44.440 -> 01:46.560] I haven't missed the race.
[01:46.560 -> 01:50.600] So look, 340 Grand Prixs, which is an amazing amount.
[01:50.600 -> 01:53.480] But I want to understand, from the start,
[01:53.480 -> 01:54.520] was that always your plan,
[01:54.520 -> 01:56.400] to be a Formula One race commentator?
[01:56.400 -> 01:59.720] When you went to your careers meeting, 15, 16 years old,
[01:59.720 -> 02:01.280] did you always want to do that?
[02:01.280 -> 02:04.240] When I said, when my English teacher said,
[02:04.240 -> 02:08.360] what do you want to do with your career? And I said, I want to be a sports commentator. He laughed at
[02:08.360 -> 02:15.440] me, which was nice and served as very good, very good motivation to be fair. I wanted
[02:15.440 -> 02:20.880] to commentate on sport. I spent my, my years as a kid kicking a football around the garden,
[02:20.880 -> 02:25.460] pretending to be, you know, John Watson or Barry Davis or Martin Tyler.
[02:25.460 -> 02:27.380] I remember seeing Martin Tyler once
[02:27.380 -> 02:29.620] going into the press door,
[02:29.620 -> 02:31.300] a match that my dad took me to,
[02:31.300 -> 02:32.540] and it was one of the most exciting things
[02:32.540 -> 02:33.380] I'd seen that afternoon.
[02:33.380 -> 02:35.060] He's like, that's Martin Tyler, he's brilliant.
[02:35.060 -> 02:40.060] And I'd ride my bike and I'd pretend to be Murray Walker.
[02:40.420 -> 02:42.660] You know, I'd be a Formula One driver
[02:42.660 -> 02:43.700] and I'd be doing the commentary.
[02:43.700 -> 02:46.440] Whenever I could kick a ball, throw a ball, ride the bike, I would pretend a Formula One driver. I'd be doing the commentary whenever I could kick a ball throw a ball ride the bike
[02:46.440 -> 02:49.160] I would pretend I was the commentator
[02:49.160 -> 02:56.280] It seemed to be the the job that that I wanted to do but how you go about that that there is no career progression
[02:56.280 -> 02:57.920] There's no career plan
[02:57.920 -> 03:02.020] And I was a theater publicity officer for many years
[03:02.800 -> 03:07.520] until my friend, my mate Darren, got a job as the sports editor
[03:07.520 -> 03:11.680] of the local newspaper and that set me on my road into sports journalism.
[03:11.680 -> 03:16.800] He wanted a guy to write about Stevenage Borough, who were a non-league team at the time.
[03:16.800 -> 03:19.120] I said I'd do it.
[03:19.120 -> 03:22.840] I didn't realize I was doing it for nothing, but it was the first of many unpaid jobs.
[03:22.840 -> 03:23.840] You know what it's like.
[03:23.840 -> 03:24.840] Welcome to broadcasting.
[03:24.840 -> 03:27.320] Exactly. Don't get into broadcasting if you want the
[03:27.320 -> 03:31.760] money. Yeah, the first 40 years anyway. But he gave me a byline,
[03:31.800 -> 03:35.680] which was handy. And I just worked my way up from there and
[03:35.680 -> 03:39.840] eventually found myself working full time for BBC local radio,
[03:40.080 -> 03:46.680] and then moved to BBC five live. And then at Hungary in 2011,
[03:46.680 -> 03:50.760] the decision was announced that the BBC had asked Sky
[03:50.760 -> 03:54.320] to come on board and share the rights for Formula 1.
[03:54.320 -> 03:57.640] And I thought, well, I better drop Sky a little line
[03:57.640 -> 03:58.920] to make sure they know who I am.
[03:58.920 -> 04:02.440] And luckily I got chosen and here I am to this day.
[04:02.440 -> 04:05.240] Yeah, it's an incredible career in the sense
[04:05.240 -> 04:07.400] of you've also worked on so many different sports
[04:07.400 -> 04:09.400] because what you missed there is, from my research,
[04:09.400 -> 04:11.000] and forgive me if I'm wrong here,
[04:11.000 -> 04:12.760] but you've worked on boxing, you've worked on darts,
[04:12.760 -> 04:15.920] you've worked on football, you've covered Olympics as well.
[04:15.920 -> 04:18.760] So what are the challenges of Formula One
[04:18.760 -> 04:19.840] compared to those other sports?
[04:19.840 -> 04:22.160] You're perhaps in quite a unique position
[04:22.160 -> 04:24.160] having already covered other sports.
[04:24.160 -> 04:25.760] Yeah, it's true.
[04:25.760 -> 04:27.280] The thing about Formula One,
[04:27.280 -> 04:29.480] the playing area is a lot bigger.
[04:29.480 -> 04:33.920] And certainly for television,
[04:33.920 -> 04:36.700] you are constantly having shots cutting
[04:36.700 -> 04:39.920] from one particular part of the story to the other,
[04:39.920 -> 04:42.360] which doesn't necessarily happen in darts
[04:42.360 -> 04:45.380] or football or cricket, et cetera, and certainly
[04:45.380 -> 04:47.660] not in boxing.
[04:47.660 -> 04:54.620] I think the other challenge of Formula One, and the biggest challenge, I went from radio,
[04:54.620 -> 05:00.260] where say we see the audience, the listener can't see what you can see, to television
[05:00.260 -> 05:02.340] where people can see what's going on.
[05:02.340 -> 05:04.660] So it's a different style of commentary.
[05:04.660 -> 05:07.840] You're trying to tell the story of the bits people can't see.
[05:08.240 -> 05:12.280] Um, whilst, you know, keeping an eye on the changes
[05:12.380 -> 05:17.280] and the gaps, but also trying to develop the strategy,
[05:17.880 -> 05:19.920] bring Martin in for his expert opinion,
[05:20.020 -> 05:22.720] his expert knowledge, steer a conversation
[05:22.820 -> 05:26.440] rather than having an opinion on driving.
[05:26.440 -> 05:29.640] And press the button so that Martin
[05:29.640 -> 05:32.760] can deliver that perfect analysis line,
[05:32.760 -> 05:36.000] which he does race after race after race.
[05:36.000 -> 05:38.280] But it's Formula One's a sport where
[05:38.280 -> 05:41.680] most of the important bits you never see, you can't see.
[05:41.680 -> 05:44.160] Can't see the driver's feet, most of the time.
[05:44.160 -> 05:45.520] You can barely see their crash helmet
[05:45.520 -> 05:47.140] because of the halo these days.
[05:48.160 -> 05:49.600] You can't see their emotion, can you?
[05:49.600 -> 05:50.440] Their eyes.
[05:50.440 -> 05:51.260] This is it, this is it.
[05:51.260 -> 05:55.220] Although the other day I did declare after the race,
[05:55.220 -> 05:58.280] you can hear the disappointment in Lewis Hamilton's face.
[05:58.280 -> 06:01.420] So I was getting some sort of signal there
[06:01.420 -> 06:04.300] from Lewis Hamilton that no one else could spot, obviously.
[06:04.300 -> 06:07.840] But I think, yeah, you're just, you're trying to,
[06:07.840 -> 06:09.600] you're trying to give that overall picture
[06:09.600 -> 06:12.240] and you're trying to tell, as best you can,
[06:12.240 -> 06:16.240] the story of 20 individual different moving parts
[06:16.240 -> 06:18.680] in terms of the drivers in one particular race.
[06:18.680 -> 06:23.340] It's not just two teams or two boxers or two darts players.
[06:23.340 -> 06:26.560] It's 20 drivers, 10 teams,
[06:26.560 -> 06:28.880] and everything else that goes with that.
[06:28.880 -> 06:29.920] It's complicated, isn't it?
[06:29.920 -> 06:31.640] Yeah, trying to stay on top of it.
[06:31.640 -> 06:32.720] And trying to keep it simple too.
[06:32.720 -> 06:34.040] Yeah, yeah, yeah.
[06:34.040 -> 06:35.480] Which is the best advice I ever had.
[06:35.480 -> 06:38.080] Just keep it simple, don't try to be too clever.
[06:38.080 -> 06:39.920] Yeah, what was your,
[06:39.920 -> 06:42.920] so your first radio commentary in F1,
[06:42.920 -> 06:46.240] take us back to that moment, what was it like?
[06:46.240 -> 06:47.520] Is it one of those that you,
[06:47.520 -> 06:48.680] I feel like a lot of these things
[06:48.680 -> 06:50.200] when you ask broadcasters for the first time
[06:50.200 -> 06:51.040] they ever did something, they go,
[06:51.040 -> 06:52.920] never again, I will never ever watch that back.
[06:52.920 -> 06:56.360] No, 2006 Bahrain, Fernando Alonso won.
[06:57.720 -> 06:58.560] Were you there?
[06:58.560 -> 06:59.380] Yeah, yeah.
[06:59.380 -> 07:00.220] You were, yeah, yeah.
[07:00.220 -> 07:01.220] It was the opening race of the season,
[07:01.220 -> 07:06.680] and I remember almost being on my knees at one stage thinking how on earth
[07:06.680 -> 07:12.000] am I ever going to make a career out of this.
[07:12.000 -> 07:16.760] So I'd got the job the previous December, December the 23rd, 2005.
[07:16.760 -> 07:18.600] I get called into the manager's office.
[07:18.600 -> 07:21.040] Yes, we've seen, we've heard your audition.
[07:21.040 -> 07:22.040] We think you're great.
[07:22.040 -> 07:24.080] You're going to be our Formula One commentator.
[07:24.080 -> 07:25.360] Brilliant.
[07:27.980 -> 07:30.320] And then I find my mate baggy up and, uh, I said, bright bags, you're the big F1 fan.
[07:30.960 -> 07:32.200] He said, you are too.
[07:32.200 -> 07:33.920] I said, I know, but you're, you're a real
[07:33.920 -> 07:34.280] fan.
[07:34.640 -> 07:35.440] Can you help me out?
[07:35.440 -> 07:37.080] I need to learn a little bit about F1.
[07:37.520 -> 07:38.920] So, well, how much I said, well, enough to be a
[07:38.920 -> 07:39.720] commentator.
[07:39.720 -> 07:45.160] Like, so he helped me out a little bit,
[07:45.160 -> 07:46.880] but I realized I knew nothing.
[07:46.880 -> 07:50.560] In terms of, I didn't know as much as I needed to know
[07:50.560 -> 07:51.520] in those early years.
[07:51.520 -> 07:55.220] So you spend two or three years listening to people
[07:55.220 -> 07:57.640] without walking around the paddock,
[07:57.640 -> 08:00.240] forming relationships, building trust,
[08:00.240 -> 08:02.760] listening to what people are saying,
[08:02.760 -> 08:06.540] and then just banking knowledge as best you can.
[08:06.540 -> 08:08.320] And after about three years,
[08:08.320 -> 08:11.120] people then start to ask your opinion occasionally.
[08:11.120 -> 08:12.280] And then after about five years,
[08:12.280 -> 08:13.840] people go, hey, Crofty, how are you?
[08:13.840 -> 08:15.720] And then you feel very much a part of it.
[08:15.720 -> 08:19.040] And it's a very difficult sport when you first come in.
[08:19.040 -> 08:20.640] I'm not saying we're not friendly, we are,
[08:20.640 -> 08:22.900] in the F1 paddock, I'm not saying we're not welcoming,
[08:22.900 -> 08:25.120] of course we are, but it's quite um
[08:25.680 -> 08:29.560] It's it's you're over order little man every time
[08:29.560 -> 08:33.700] I take someone into the paddock now, and I'm sure you found this the first time you went into the paddock
[08:33.720 -> 08:39.320] You just think blimey how on earth did this all get here? Yeah, and then you try that
[08:39.320 -> 08:41.600] well, Ken is going somewhere else next week and
[08:42.120 -> 08:45.960] God, how does this all fit together? And it's so busy.
[08:45.960 -> 08:46.800] And the grid.
[08:46.800 -> 08:48.920] The amount of people, her team.
[08:48.920 -> 08:51.480] And I actually remember when I, Nat Pinkham,
[08:51.480 -> 08:54.320] very kindly took me in Barcelona in 2020.
[08:54.320 -> 08:56.040] She took me into the paddock for the first time.
[08:56.040 -> 08:57.080] And she just knew everyone.
[08:57.080 -> 08:59.600] She'd be saying, oh, hello, hi, hello, hello, hello.
[08:59.600 -> 09:00.440] That's the thing.
[09:00.440 -> 09:02.560] Because she was like, how do you know all these people?
[09:02.560 -> 09:04.020] But obviously, that's been in the paddock
[09:04.020 -> 09:04.860] for many, many years.
[09:04.860 -> 09:06.680] But the grid is so hot. Yeah
[09:07.200 -> 09:09.720] This is the heat that comes off the tires
[09:09.720 -> 09:13.960] I did I did something in my first year with super aguri with a super aguri team
[09:14.240 -> 09:19.160] Where we for whatever reason we weren't doing the practice sessions in Manicor
[09:19.320 -> 09:24.480] So I asked if I could be a truckie for the week go down with the truckies set the garage up
[09:22.360 -> 09:24.820] I asked if I could be a truckie for the week, go down with the truckies, set the garage up,
[09:26.000 -> 09:28.680] learn how the pit wall gets put together, whatever,
[09:28.680 -> 09:32.320] make a feature, a half hour documentary feature about it,
[09:32.320 -> 09:34.720] and learn from the guys in the garage.
[09:34.720 -> 09:37.080] So the sessions, I was Frank Montagne's
[09:37.080 -> 09:39.880] front right tire man for the session,
[09:39.880 -> 09:43.080] which those tire blankets, they make it look so easy.
[09:43.080 -> 09:46.040] You know, getting them off, getting them back on again.
[09:46.040 -> 09:47.240] Getting them back on is really hard
[09:47.240 -> 09:48.760] because the tires are so sticky
[09:48.760 -> 09:50.240] because they're so hot when they come in.
[09:50.240 -> 09:53.920] And if you miss, you don't align it up properly,
[09:53.920 -> 09:55.360] then your thing's at an angle
[09:55.360 -> 09:57.200] and you can't shift it around.
[09:57.200 -> 09:59.560] I was hopeless, I really was.
[09:59.560 -> 10:01.080] But I remember that weekend,
[10:01.080 -> 10:02.880] it was when Juan Pablo Montoya announced
[10:02.880 -> 10:04.440] he was retiring from the sport.
[10:04.440 -> 10:08.040] And I got a phone call from the editor,
[10:08.040 -> 10:11.040] that sports desk editor at Five Live,
[10:11.040 -> 10:13.360] going, oh, I need you to come on and do a voice piece.
[10:13.360 -> 10:16.520] Montoya's retiring, and I can't do it.
[10:16.520 -> 10:18.440] We, you're our Formula One man, we need you.
[10:18.440 -> 10:20.760] I said, yeah, I'm on a truck at the moment.
[10:20.760 -> 10:21.600] What are you doing?
[10:21.600 -> 10:23.160] I said, I'm cleaning it.
[10:23.160 -> 10:24.200] Wait, but we need you to do this.
[10:24.200 -> 10:25.840] I said, yeah, I've got to finish cleaning the truck first.
[10:25.840 -> 10:29.000] Like the lads would not allow me to take any time off.
[10:29.000 -> 10:31.200] And you know, they've been ever so nice.
[10:31.200 -> 10:32.680] Give me an hour and I'll come on.
[10:32.680 -> 10:34.360] So I finished cleaning the truck
[10:34.360 -> 10:36.240] before I went on and did the voice piece.
[10:36.240 -> 10:38.520] Cause I owed it to the people that were helping me.
[10:38.520 -> 10:41.120] And so many people have helped me
[10:41.120 -> 10:44.120] and I've made so many great friends, you know,
[10:44.120 -> 10:46.000] by being in F1 and
[10:46.000 -> 10:48.160] by being on the road and spending time with people.
[10:48.160 -> 10:50.720] And it's, it absolutely changed my life.
[10:50.720 -> 10:56.120] Um, and it allowed me as well, I think more importantly to, to absolutely fall in love
[10:56.120 -> 11:01.760] with the sport of formula one, uh, which I enjoyed as a fan and I watched as a kid, but
[11:01.760 -> 11:04.640] I wasn't, I wasn't a passionate, you know, petrol head.
[11:04.640 -> 11:07.780] I hate the term petrol head, but you know, I wasn't a passionate petrolhead. I hate the term petrolhead, but I wasn't.
[11:07.780 -> 11:09.440] It's not that I didn't like it, I just,
[11:09.440 -> 11:11.040] I preferred football, I preferred dance,
[11:11.040 -> 11:12.760] preferred cricket, you know?
[11:12.760 -> 11:16.720] But it's just allowed me to have the greatest job
[11:16.720 -> 11:19.320] in the world with the most amazing people
[11:19.320 -> 11:22.560] and to learn some incredible things
[11:22.560 -> 11:25.260] in some places that I'd never have gone to either.
[11:25.260 -> 11:26.900] You know, and also to have the privilege
[11:26.900 -> 11:30.380] of being invited into people's homes every other week
[11:30.380 -> 11:32.600] or every week as it seems to be at the moment
[11:32.600 -> 11:36.800] and tell them the story of their sport that they love too.
[11:36.800 -> 11:38.940] And it's been fabulous.
[11:38.940 -> 11:42.060] Honestly, 18 years now I've been involved in F1.
[11:42.060 -> 11:43.060] It has flown by.
[11:43.060 -> 11:45.160] I still think I'm 25.
[11:45.160 -> 11:46.600] It's definitely one of those sports, I think,
[11:46.600 -> 11:48.960] the more you know, the more into it you get,
[11:48.960 -> 11:50.840] the more you'll get out of it.
[11:50.840 -> 11:53.600] It helps, but there are still things that come up.
[11:53.600 -> 11:54.760] Have we had this before?
[11:54.760 -> 11:55.600] Yeah.
[11:55.600 -> 11:58.240] It's like in spa.
[11:58.240 -> 12:01.520] I said to Martin, okay, so normally in a Grand Prix,
[12:01.520 -> 12:06.960] we'd lose a lap from the start if we've got a formation lap.
[12:06.960 -> 12:08.900] Does that happen in sprint races as well?
[12:08.900 -> 12:10.860] Yeah, yeah, yeah, oh yeah, it must do,
[12:10.860 -> 12:12.000] because of the fuel, yeah,
[12:12.000 -> 12:13.600] because you can't overfill it,
[12:15.080 -> 12:16.820] the fuel in the cars.
[12:16.820 -> 12:19.480] And we do work things out on the hoof occasionally.
[12:19.480 -> 12:22.060] The sporting regs, as much as we try and read them,
[12:22.060 -> 12:25.560] to our best ability all the time to keep up to date,
[12:25.560 -> 12:28.520] there's still bits in there that you kind of forget.
[12:28.520 -> 12:30.040] It's a very complex sport.
[12:30.040 -> 12:32.280] I want to get to some questions from people at home.
[12:32.280 -> 12:33.960] As I say, plenty were sent in.
[12:33.960 -> 12:35.760] This is a question from Rome on Instagram
[12:35.760 -> 12:37.720] who asks what your routine is like
[12:37.720 -> 12:38.840] on days that you broadcast.
[12:38.840 -> 12:41.080] And I want to follow up also
[12:41.080 -> 12:42.760] by asking what your week looks like.
[12:42.760 -> 12:44.600] So when do you start to prep?
[12:44.600 -> 12:47.920] Take us into your week, week of a race.
[12:47.920 -> 12:51.280] I was having this chat with Braden, the F1 junior,
[12:51.280 -> 12:54.680] one of the F1 juniors who came to Hungary and did so well
[12:54.680 -> 12:56.320] over the Hungarian Grand Prix weekend.
[12:56.320 -> 12:59.640] And we were on a Sunday night, walking back to the bus.
[12:59.640 -> 13:03.440] Yes, we traveled by bus, by the way, all the time.
[13:03.440 -> 13:05.040] I've not taken this many bus journeys
[13:05.040 -> 13:06.640] since I was at school.
[13:06.640 -> 13:09.480] And yeah, you sit on the back row, I don't.
[13:09.480 -> 13:11.080] I'm not part of the naughty boys.
[13:11.960 -> 13:13.260] So Bray was saying, when do you start?
[13:13.260 -> 13:15.160] I said, on Monday, tomorrow.
[13:15.160 -> 13:16.000] Really?
[13:16.000 -> 13:16.840] I said, yeah.
[13:16.840 -> 13:18.800] Next race is next weekend.
[13:18.800 -> 13:20.440] So I've got to be all prepped and ready
[13:20.440 -> 13:22.920] to get myself to Belgium in time.
[13:24.120 -> 13:26.020] To start really from the Thursday onward.
[13:26.020 -> 13:30.740] So, um, in that case, I got back from Hungary.
[13:30.920 -> 13:33.220] I think I'd finally crawl through about half
[13:33.220 -> 13:36.820] midnight when I got into the house, did my washing
[13:36.820 -> 13:38.440] first thing on Monday morning, cause you've got
[13:38.440 -> 13:40.780] to get your washing done, uh, give it time to
[13:40.780 -> 13:41.520] dry and all that.
[13:41.540 -> 13:48.960] And started my notes, um, uh, started compiling the handwritten notes that I do
[13:48.960 -> 13:51.240] with double side of A4.
[13:51.240 -> 13:53.560] You've got the two drivers and some team stats
[13:53.560 -> 13:56.760] in every box and stats for tires and stuff as well.
[13:56.760 -> 14:00.580] Then I do a track map with minimum cornering speeds
[14:00.580 -> 14:03.080] and gears so that if someone has an accident,
[14:03.080 -> 14:05.760] you can tell people roughly what
[14:05.760 -> 14:11.200] speed the car was going at without even knowing from the telemetry, because we don't always
[14:11.200 -> 14:12.420] get that.
[14:12.420 -> 14:17.920] And then there's various stats about the race itself and things that are of interest.
[14:17.920 -> 14:20.720] I might not use them all over the course of a weekend, but you don't know what you're
[14:20.720 -> 14:22.760] going to need to use.
[14:22.760 -> 14:25.560] So it's get that preparation done.
[14:27.960 -> 14:31.400] And we have a stat guy as well, a couple of stat guys that, that help help me with that. But what I find is if,
[14:31.400 -> 14:33.480] if you put a piece of paper in front of me and I read it,
[14:33.520 -> 14:34.840] I'll remember some of it.
[14:35.520 -> 14:40.520] But if I write stuff out by hand in my own way to help me remember in a kind of
[14:40.680 -> 14:43.000] a shorthand way, I'll remember all of it.
[14:43.360 -> 14:45.040] And so that when something happens in a race
[14:46.740 -> 14:46.840] that's exciting and in the moment,
[14:50.240 -> 14:50.340] you want to add something to it to help tell the story,
[14:52.380 -> 14:52.480] I know where I can find something.
[14:55.380 -> 14:55.480] So by handwriting things out, and honestly,
[14:57.480 -> 14:57.580] if there's any kids out there, any juniors out there
[14:58.860 -> 14:58.960] that are thinking, why do I bother
[15:00.060 -> 15:00.160] with handwriting at school?
[15:02.320 -> 15:02.420] Trust me, the more you write stuff out,
[15:03.620 -> 15:03.720] the more you remember it.
[15:06.760 -> 15:08.480] You type stuff out, to your heart's content, you don't remember it all the time.
[15:08.480 -> 15:10.180] And that's what I've always found.
[15:11.280 -> 15:13.920] So my stats were all done and ready,
[15:13.920 -> 15:17.200] and off we went to Belgium by train.
[15:17.200 -> 15:19.160] We took the Eurostar, so we had a little bit
[15:19.160 -> 15:21.480] of a train journey day.
[15:21.480 -> 15:23.600] Normally we'd fly, to be honest,
[15:23.600 -> 15:25.700] but we decided that Belgium was nice
[15:25.700 -> 15:32.720] and nearby so we'd go green and just do something a little bit more environmentally friendly
[15:32.720 -> 15:39.200] which I think we're obliged to do and we should be doing. So we got to spa on the Wednesday
[15:39.200 -> 15:42.480] night, finished off my notes Wednesday night because I hadn't quite got time to get it
[15:42.480 -> 15:45.040] all done. Thursday is press conference day,
[15:45.040 -> 15:46.320] as you know, at the track.
[15:46.320 -> 15:48.040] We have a big production meeting,
[15:48.040 -> 15:50.760] that we're all there where we share ideas,
[15:50.760 -> 15:51.940] talk about the features,
[15:51.940 -> 15:54.540] talk about the likely news stories for the week.
[15:54.540 -> 15:56.520] And we do one of those every morning.
[15:56.520 -> 15:58.520] And after the production meeting,
[15:58.520 -> 16:00.480] I'll go about my business in the paddock,
[16:00.480 -> 16:02.840] talking to people, getting stories,
[16:02.840 -> 16:05.920] finding drivers, engineers, team principals.
[16:05.920 -> 16:08.440] When you've been in the sport for a while,
[16:08.440 -> 16:10.280] you can stop and have chats.
[16:10.280 -> 16:12.700] And because you've built up those relationships
[16:12.700 -> 16:16.160] over the years and I've got several secret,
[16:16.160 -> 16:20.880] secret, secret squirrel sources that help you out.
[16:20.880 -> 16:23.120] Because I was talking to James Vowles,
[16:23.120 -> 16:29.800] the Williams team principal about this on Sunday night. Actually I've known James for many, many years now.
[16:29.800 -> 16:35.920] And he's of the view that the more open he is with the broadcasters and the journalists
[16:35.920 -> 16:40.200] and the more open he is with our viewers on Sky, he was our Pitbull team principal.
[16:40.200 -> 16:42.200] He's brilliant isn't he on that Pitbull.
[16:42.200 -> 16:45.000] He's magnificent and not just about his team, but other teams.
[16:45.000 -> 16:48.000] The more he can help explain the sport, the more interesting it is,
[16:48.000 -> 16:51.000] and the more satisfaction people get out of watching it.
[16:51.000 -> 16:55.000] And he's all about building a global audience across all the teams,
[16:55.000 -> 16:57.000] rather than just his own.
[16:57.000 -> 17:00.000] And he was saying, you know, and he can't tell me everything, of course.
[17:00.000 -> 17:04.000] Some things he tells me that he'll trust me on that I won't repeat.
[17:03.260 -> 17:04.780] Some things he tells me that he'll trust me on that. I won't repeat
[17:07.140 -> 17:07.580] But he he knows that
[17:14.220 -> 17:14.540] The the more I understand the easier it is to tell the story and it's not for my purpose. It's for our viewers
[17:19.160 -> 17:19.760] On sky and and around the world. So yeah, so people like James you'll have a chat with
[17:22.020 -> 17:22.060] Because it was a sprint weekend in Belgium
[17:25.140 -> 17:25.620] I'm on duty for FP one and then
[17:30.980 -> 17:36.820] Sprint qualifying later on the day and then you've got sorry normal qualifier later in the day Then you got sprint shootout sprint on Saturday Grand Prix on Sunday and and you're basically you're binding your time
[17:36.820 -> 17:41.460] You're spending your time in between our production office and the paddock. You don't want to outstay you
[17:41.460 -> 17:44.860] Welcome in team hospitality units, even though some of them are great
[17:44.480 -> 17:45.480] You don't want to outstay you welcome in team hospitality units, even though some of them are great.
[17:45.480 -> 17:48.320] Um, if all of them are great, some of them are better than others.
[17:48.320 -> 17:52.760] And some do an amazing bacon sandwich that is actually quite nice to get ahold of because
[17:52.760 -> 17:55.600] they weren't doing decent banks, sandwiches in our hotel.
[17:55.600 -> 18:02.200] But, um, you're just learning all the time and making sure that when the microphone goes
[18:02.200 -> 18:07.480] on, you're ready to speak and ready to tell the tale.
[18:07.560 -> 18:09.040] But I try and go into the commentary box
[18:09.040 -> 18:10.240] with a very open mind.
[18:11.560 -> 18:12.720] Have you been in the commentary box?
[18:12.720 -> 18:14.800] Yeah, I've been in a few times.
[18:14.800 -> 18:16.040] I don't write anything down
[18:16.040 -> 18:18.840] in terms of a prepared speech at the start.
[18:20.240 -> 18:22.520] I used to know an old Methodist minister,
[18:22.520 -> 18:24.400] the Reverend Alan Washbrook was his name,
[18:24.400 -> 18:27.440] and I've no idea where he is now.
[18:27.440 -> 18:31.720] I asked once, did you ever, do you write down your sermons?
[18:31.720 -> 18:33.560] And he said, no, I go up into the pulpit
[18:33.560 -> 18:34.960] and I offer a prayer up to the Lord,
[18:34.960 -> 18:38.060] and then he guides me with my sermon.
[18:38.060 -> 18:41.400] Now, I'm not saying I pray before the start of a great,
[18:41.400 -> 18:44.160] but I do find keeping an open mind
[18:44.160 -> 18:48.180] and not having anything in my head as to this is exactly what I'm gonna say
[18:48.700 -> 18:55.000] Helps you a because we have no control over the pictures that that I'm commentating to they're taken from a world feed
[18:55.000 -> 18:59.400] So I'm reacting to something. I don't know that's coming up and be I'm in that moment
[19:00.040 -> 19:05.120] With everybody else. So when I say I'm excited trust me, I'm excited. I'm in that moment.
[19:05.120 -> 19:09.640] And you just have to have confidence in your own ability
[19:09.640 -> 19:10.840] that you'll get through that.
[19:10.840 -> 19:12.320] And that's part of the challenge.
[19:12.320 -> 19:14.960] It's like, for an hour and a half, two hours,
[19:14.960 -> 19:17.260] or an hour's practice session,
[19:17.260 -> 19:20.240] we're gonna walk a tightrope without a safety net.
[19:20.240 -> 19:21.720] And let's see what happens.
[19:21.720 -> 19:22.800] But that's the thrill, isn't it?
[19:22.800 -> 19:23.880] Absolutely.
[19:23.880 -> 19:26.560] So when it's lights out and away we go,
[19:26.560 -> 19:28.680] the adrenaline for the drivers is obvious
[19:28.680 -> 19:29.720] because they're going racing,
[19:29.720 -> 19:32.000] same adrenaline for Martin and myself.
[19:32.000 -> 19:33.880] Because we have no idea what's going to happen.
[19:33.880 -> 19:36.960] And you still have that from, obviously still now,
[19:36.960 -> 19:38.440] as to when you, I mean, goodness knows
[19:38.440 -> 19:40.720] what that adrenaline was when you first started.
[19:40.720 -> 19:42.400] Oh, with the first race,
[19:43.620 -> 19:45.680] it was like, I have no idea what's gonna happen. Maybe
[19:45.680 -> 19:50.600] more nervous adrenaline. Yeah, but I still get nervous now. Yeah, yeah. And I pace around,
[19:50.600 -> 19:56.640] I can't stop moving. But I had all that nerves, all that adrenaline and I had no experience
[19:56.640 -> 20:03.520] to fall back on as to what was going to happen. And I honestly got halfway through that first
[20:03.520 -> 20:05.080] year and I'm thinking I'm doing a dreadful
[20:05.080 -> 20:11.040] job of this and I had a meeting with our producer at Five Live who said no no we think you're
[20:11.040 -> 20:15.640] doing a really good job keep at it this is this is good stuff and yeah here we are today
[20:15.640 -> 20:16.880] still talking about it.
[20:16.880 -> 20:32.040] Yeah absolutely. A few more questions. Sean on Twitter would like to know which track has the best commentary
[20:32.040 -> 20:35.080] box and which has the worst.
[20:35.080 -> 20:40.480] Well, they condemned the boxes in Monza, which is interesting because I was sat in one of
[20:40.480 -> 20:45.600] those boxes in 2008 when Sebastian Vettel won for Toro Rosso.
[20:45.600 -> 20:47.380] And on the practice session on the Friday,
[20:47.380 -> 20:49.140] we actually had to stop broadcasting
[20:50.140 -> 20:51.560] before the end of the session
[20:51.560 -> 20:54.460] because the rain was coming in through a hole in the roof.
[20:54.460 -> 20:56.440] And it was running and forming in a puddle
[20:56.440 -> 20:57.980] where all our electric gear was.
[20:57.980 -> 21:00.480] And I'm like, well, we're on air, we're live on air,
[21:00.480 -> 21:02.560] we're gonna go live, literally, in a minute.
[21:02.560 -> 21:04.280] So we had to get out.
[21:04.280 -> 21:05.960] The Monza boxes are not great.
[21:07.640 -> 21:09.780] I guess people forget that these are old race tracks,
[21:09.780 -> 21:10.620] aren't they?
[21:10.620 -> 21:12.880] They're not these sort of glamorous locations.
[21:12.880 -> 21:16.180] Some of them are, but often they are quite run down.
[21:16.180 -> 21:17.280] Is that the right word?
[21:17.280 -> 21:19.460] They were built 50, 60, 70 years ago
[21:19.460 -> 21:20.880] and they haven't been updated.
[21:20.880 -> 21:22.360] I like a view of the pit lane
[21:22.360 -> 21:24.620] and I like a view where you can see into the garages
[21:24.620 -> 21:25.300] and China is the best one because you've got a view of the pit lane and I like a view where you can see into the garages and you
[21:25.760 -> 21:29.620] China is the best one because you've got a view of the pit lane and most of the track as well
[21:30.040 -> 21:35.360] Apart from the hairpin that's kind of behind you. That's a sensational one. I'm not gonna name the really bad
[21:35.960 -> 21:39.840] But what I would say that there's there's always a story when we first went to India
[21:40.800 -> 21:42.580] for the first Indian Grand Prix
[21:42.580 -> 21:45.140] And we found that the the uh, the commentary boxes were
[21:45.140 -> 21:49.560] in a, in a, in a building in the middle of the paddock window windows.
[21:49.560 -> 21:54.420] We all went to see Bernie Eccleston and said, Bernie, we need to change the commentary boxes
[21:54.420 -> 21:55.420] for next year.
[21:55.420 -> 21:56.720] We can't have this.
[21:56.720 -> 21:58.520] The world feeds gone off three times already.
[21:58.520 -> 22:01.220] And when it goes off, we have nothing to talk about.
[22:01.220 -> 22:07.200] I think, and I put a map of Mount Everest, uh, not a map, a picture of Mount Everest on the wall
[22:07.200 -> 22:08.880] and then a picture of a shark the next day.
[22:08.880 -> 22:10.160] We just found these pictures
[22:10.160 -> 22:11.640] just so we could actually look at something
[22:11.640 -> 22:14.120] while we're commentating by the TVs.
[22:14.120 -> 22:16.680] So we said, Bernie, we need rooms with windows,
[22:16.680 -> 22:17.520] we need a view.
[22:17.520 -> 22:18.340] He said, well, any view?
[22:18.340 -> 22:19.440] Yeah, we need a view of the track.
[22:19.440 -> 22:20.840] Yeah, but any view?
[22:20.840 -> 22:22.180] I said, no, no, a view of the track,
[22:22.180 -> 22:24.280] the pit lane preferably, but any view will do.
[22:24.280 -> 22:25.000] I said, no, not really. We just need a view where we can see what's going view of the track the pit lane preferably but any view will do I said no not really
[22:25.520 -> 22:31.720] We just need a view where we can see what's going on on the track and we came back the next year and we did have
[22:31.720 -> 22:37.240] A view because they'd found rooms with windows still in the middle of the track overlooking the toilet block
[22:37.520 -> 22:42.720] That was the view that he gave us. So I would say India was the worst in terms of views
[22:42.720 -> 22:46.080] Yeah, there are several others, but they will remain nameless because it's not fair. Yeah, but I would say India was the worst in terms of views. There are several others, but they will remain nameless
[22:46.080 -> 22:47.380] because it's not fair.
[22:48.320 -> 22:53.320] But I would say China, Bahrain, Abu Dhabi,
[22:53.520 -> 22:56.440] sensational commentary boxes there, Japan.
[22:56.440 -> 23:00.000] Oh, Suzuka is a fabulous location.
[23:00.000 -> 23:02.280] You can see for miles around,
[23:02.280 -> 23:03.800] but the sun sets quite early.
[23:03.800 -> 23:04.960] It's the land of the rising sun,
[23:04.960 -> 23:07.080] but it sets quite early, and on a sunny day,
[23:07.080 -> 23:08.760] you gotta put the sunglasses on,
[23:08.760 -> 23:11.040] because the sunlight's streaming through the window
[23:11.040 -> 23:12.000] on the chequered flag.
[23:12.000 -> 23:13.800] Just doing that, you know,
[23:13.800 -> 23:15.560] at the get of our eyes.
[23:15.560 -> 23:17.120] Fascinating, fascinating.
[23:17.120 -> 23:18.640] Michael on Twitter would like to know,
[23:18.640 -> 23:21.580] if you ever re-watch your races
[23:21.580 -> 23:23.680] to critique your commentary,
[23:23.680 -> 23:25.280] and if so, have you ever had a,
[23:25.280 -> 23:27.360] oh, I wish I'd said that moment?
[23:27.360 -> 23:29.180] Yeah, you often get that.
[23:29.180 -> 23:32.000] You know, you often think, oh, that's a brilliant line,
[23:32.000 -> 23:35.240] I wish I'd have used, oh yeah, I should have said that.
[23:35.240 -> 23:38.400] Because you are a critique of your own work,
[23:38.400 -> 23:40.280] and I do, I do watch them back,
[23:40.280 -> 23:42.440] not religiously, because there isn't time sometimes.
[23:42.440 -> 23:44.720] Yes, well, especially on a back to back, I mean, yeah.
[23:44.720 -> 23:45.320] I think you can
[23:45.840 -> 23:51.760] Beat yourself up a bit if you think you're making mistakes or you've not said the right thing. What's done is done
[23:52.920 -> 24:00.320] So I do listen back but not religiously to everything I've done. Yeah, I after all trying to think two hours
[24:00.760 -> 24:04.340] So Belgian Grand Prix weekend two hours three hours
[24:07.120 -> 24:12.880] hours. So Belgian Grand Prix weekend, two hours, three hours, four, five, six, probably about six and a half hours that I was on air because of all the rain delays and stuff.
[24:12.880 -> 24:17.520] That's more than newsreaders. You're on a 24 hour rolling news channel, you might get
[24:17.520 -> 24:21.460] a four hour, three hour shift or something. But that is like, yeah, it's an awfully long
[24:21.460 -> 24:29.640] time to be on air. Yeah. And I know it Across a weekend. Only once have I ever had to leave the commentary box to go for a week.
[24:29.640 -> 24:33.120] Only once I leave Martin Brundle on his own flying solo.
[24:33.120 -> 24:37.640] But I knew the toilets were right near and it was at Silverstone and we had a bit of
[24:37.640 -> 24:41.160] a rain delay I think.
[24:41.160 -> 24:44.600] He gave me a look as if to say like I understand but for heaven's sake hurry up.
[24:44.600 -> 24:45.600] Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
[24:45.600 -> 24:47.600] Well, you know, if anyone can man the forwards, Martin.
[24:47.600 -> 24:48.600] He certainly can.
[24:48.600 -> 24:50.200] He's got me back over the years.
[24:50.200 -> 24:51.200] Yes.
[24:51.200 -> 24:55.400] And one thing I want to ask you about as well is you do the Formula One game.
[24:55.400 -> 24:57.200] The eSports Formula One game.
[24:57.200 -> 24:58.400] I want to know...
[24:58.400 -> 24:59.400] I do them both.
[24:59.400 -> 25:05.000] The manager and the sort of the regular one that you race.
[25:05.200 -> 25:06.040] That's right.
[25:06.040 -> 25:06.860] Yeah, yeah.
[25:06.860 -> 25:08.240] So what is that like to record?
[25:08.240 -> 25:11.600] And so many questions is how many lines do you record?
[25:11.600 -> 25:13.720] And how do you, do you just have a big old,
[25:13.720 -> 25:16.280] do you go in for one day and have a list
[25:16.280 -> 25:17.800] of line after line after line?
[25:17.800 -> 25:22.440] Yeah, so working with Codemasters and Frontier Games,
[25:22.440 -> 25:25.780] they're absolutely brilliant in that they have an idea
[25:25.780 -> 25:27.580] of what they want us to say.
[25:27.580 -> 25:30.580] And sometimes you have to deliver the line that they want.
[25:30.580 -> 25:32.900] But a lot of the time, they're like,
[25:32.900 -> 25:35.340] if you wanna say it in another way, say it in another way.
[25:35.340 -> 25:37.500] Whatever feels natural to you.
[25:37.500 -> 25:40.040] We've tried to write the line as if it were you,
[25:40.040 -> 25:41.340] but if you think you wouldn't say that
[25:41.340 -> 25:43.260] and you say something else, you go ahead and do it.
[25:43.260 -> 25:47.620] And that's brilliant when they have that trust in you and I'm not
[25:48.480 -> 25:54.300] Working with them now frontier for two years co-master. I think 10 years. I've been working with co-masters as well
[25:54.820 -> 25:59.960] you you you develop a trust and an understanding and you
[26:00.420 -> 26:05.960] Develop a knack for doing it because it is a lot of reading the same line over again.
[26:05.960 -> 26:08.520] So you'll have played the F1 game,
[26:08.520 -> 26:10.240] you'll have played it as Matt,
[26:10.240 -> 26:12.080] because you can be Matt.
[26:12.080 -> 26:14.720] And I can say things, let's talk about Matt.
[26:14.720 -> 26:19.480] Matt's on pole position, and Matt completes the front row.
[26:19.480 -> 26:21.600] And there's about six variants.
[26:21.600 -> 26:24.040] Matt takes over the lead of the championship.
[26:25.560 -> 26:27.920] Matt is the new championship leader. There's about six variants. Matt takes over the lead of the championship. Matt is the new championship leader.
[26:27.920 -> 26:29.600] There's about six or seven lines,
[26:29.600 -> 26:31.960] but imagine doing that for every name.
[26:31.960 -> 26:33.520] Do you have to do that for every name?
[26:33.520 -> 26:34.600] Wow, really?
[26:34.600 -> 26:36.820] Yeah, and then we did nicknames.
[26:37.680 -> 26:39.720] And then I pulled rank a little bit.
[26:39.720 -> 26:40.920] I said, can we have Crofty?
[26:40.920 -> 26:42.480] Can we have Crofty Junior?
[26:42.480 -> 26:44.080] Can we have Crofty Junior Junior?
[26:44.080 -> 26:44.920] And can we have Ava?
[26:44.920 -> 26:46.320] Just wanted to get my kids in a bit.
[26:46.320 -> 26:47.920] Oh, very nice, very nice.
[26:47.920 -> 26:49.480] And I think we've had a Daniel and a James
[26:49.480 -> 26:50.320] and all that.
[26:50.320 -> 26:54.000] So, and an aunt said, can I have a Rowan and a Lottie?
[26:54.000 -> 26:57.600] So we got all our kids' names in there.
[26:57.600 -> 27:00.520] Which is the privilege of doing it, yeah.
[27:00.520 -> 27:02.400] But I think one day,
[27:03.960 -> 27:06.840] one day I did something like two and a half thousand lines
[27:06.840 -> 27:10.840] in a session, which was fairly good going.
[27:10.840 -> 27:14.920] But it was the last, we made it the last day.
[27:14.920 -> 27:17.720] We could have done it the next day, but I'm like, I can do this.
[27:17.720 -> 27:19.240] We can get this done guys.
[27:19.240 -> 27:26.000] But as long, you've got to do the same emphasis, same intonation on each word.
[27:26.000 -> 27:29.000] And as long as they're happy with that, I'll just keep on going and going.
[27:29.000 -> 27:32.000] Normally, they're like a four-hour recording.
[27:32.000 -> 27:34.000] You must be exhausted at the end of that.
[27:34.000 -> 27:35.000] Yeah, it is quite tiring.
[27:35.000 -> 27:38.000] I never thought talking was that tiring, to be honest.
[27:38.000 -> 27:42.000] But it is. We tend to do it in December, January, February time.
[27:42.000 -> 27:44.000] A whole new batch each year.
[27:44.000 -> 27:46.740] It's a whole new batch pretty much each year.
[27:46.740 -> 27:50.440] And Codemasters, was it this year?
[27:50.440 -> 27:51.600] Last year?
[27:51.600 -> 27:53.440] I forget, forget which game it was.
[27:53.440 -> 27:55.740] I think it was this year, where they said,
[27:55.740 -> 27:58.080] right, we're gonna do a load of old lines,
[27:58.080 -> 28:02.760] historical lines, because you did these 10 years ago,
[28:02.760 -> 28:05.960] and obviously your voice has changed in 10 years. So to keep
[28:05.960 -> 28:10.640] it sounding realistic, we're going to go back and revisit our whole own lines.
[28:10.640 -> 28:15.000] It's funny, isn't it? Contrasting your voice 10 years ago to now. You're playing the game.
[28:15.000 -> 28:21.720] Obviously I do that by watching on the F1 channel, some of the classic Grand Prix from
[28:21.720 -> 28:26.460] back in 2012 and 2013. Oh, did I sound like that in those days?
[28:26.460 -> 28:27.920] Voice is holding up quite well
[28:27.920 -> 28:29.860] considering how much talking I've done.
[28:29.860 -> 28:30.700] It does change, doesn't it?
[28:30.700 -> 28:33.040] As we all get older.
[28:33.040 -> 28:35.040] Right, a few more questions.
[28:35.040 -> 28:37.420] Most memorable race you've covered?
[28:38.540 -> 28:39.380] There's been a few.
[28:39.380 -> 28:40.200] There's been a few.
[28:40.200 -> 28:41.040] There's been a few.
[28:41.040 -> 28:41.860] There's been a few.
[28:41.860 -> 28:42.700] I think,
[28:44.000 -> 28:48.040] there've been some incredible tussles and battles.
[28:48.040 -> 28:54.920] And I remember the ones that stand out, uh, 2011 Canada, uh, when Jenson
[28:54.920 -> 28:59.920] Barton won and took the lead from Seb on the last lap, 2008 Silverstone
[28:59.920 -> 29:07.980] when, when Lewis was just incredible in the way he was, He was just on a different planet to everybody else.
[29:09.800 -> 29:12.880] Lewis and Jenson winning their first titles.
[29:14.040 -> 29:16.520] I remember Hungary just after,
[29:16.520 -> 29:19.800] you know, a few days after the funeral of Jules Bianchi,
[29:19.800 -> 29:22.200] when I think every single driver went out
[29:22.200 -> 29:24.880] and produced a race that Jules would have been proud,
[29:24.880 -> 29:27.700] not just to witness, but would love to have taken part in it
[29:27.700 -> 29:35.380] But there was something about that weekend when everyone just went out and raced for Jule and that was that was just just phenomenal to witness
[29:36.280 -> 29:39.980] When you had his accident in in Suzuka that that day
[29:39.980 -> 29:45.360] I'll never forget when Roman Grosjean had his crash in Bahrain, you know moments like that
[29:45.960 -> 29:50.360] where all the fun that we have and all the love that we have for the sport is
[29:50.640 -> 29:55.360] Just put on hold in one instant because you know, something really serious
[29:55.360 -> 30:00.760] Yeah as has happened and and you go into a completely different mode of broadcasting
[30:01.320 -> 30:07.760] But I think of all the races I've covered, I could go on forever about the great races.
[30:07.760 -> 30:13.660] If anything ever comes close to the last lap of Abu Dhabi 2021, I will be not only stunned
[30:13.660 -> 30:17.560] but impressed that a sport can do that, to be honest.
[30:17.560 -> 30:24.560] Because here was an incredible championship battle that was a battle for the ages.
[30:24.560 -> 30:26.060] It really was.
[30:26.060 -> 30:31.060] And I think, you might, I was in the office one day,
[30:31.440 -> 30:32.440] about eight races out,
[30:32.440 -> 30:33.780] and I went, this is going down to the wire,
[30:33.780 -> 30:35.380] I said, they're gonna have the same amount of points
[30:35.380 -> 30:38.000] when we get to Abu Dhabi, I could just see it.
[30:38.000 -> 30:42.040] This is just one of those seasons, and so it transpired.
[30:42.040 -> 30:44.240] Did we think it was gonna go down to the last lap?
[30:44.240 -> 30:45.400] No, and certainly for most of the race, it didn't look like it was going to go down to the last lap? No.
[30:46.800 -> 30:49.600] And certainly for most of the race, it didn't look like it was going to boil up into anything.
[30:49.800 -> 30:52.100] But that's the beauty of live sports.
[30:52.100 -> 30:55.300] Things change around in an instance.
[30:55.400 -> 30:59.100] And you've got to try and put into perspective that last lap
[30:59.400 -> 31:01.200] with everything that's led up to it
[31:01.300 -> 31:03.800] and a slight bit of controversy as well.
[31:03.900 -> 31:10.560] I say slight, quite a bit of big, big bit of controversy, and then call someone as the world champion.
[31:10.560 -> 31:16.840] And I managed to find the right words, you know, as Max crossed the line and then it
[31:16.840 -> 31:19.480] all kicked off in the paddock, didn't it?
[31:19.480 -> 31:25.000] It was, that was an amazing sporting moment.
[31:25.620 -> 31:29.140] And to be there at the center of it
[31:29.140 -> 31:31.900] and to be the lead voice alongside
[31:33.220 -> 31:34.640] the man who's brought Formula One
[31:34.640 -> 31:37.140] into the homes of people for a lot longer than me
[31:37.140 -> 31:40.780] and will carry on doing so for many, many years to come.
[31:40.780 -> 31:43.820] And for Martin and I just to both be there in that moment
[31:43.820 -> 31:46.600] and to have the privilege of describing that action,
[31:46.600 -> 31:49.520] that's what any kid kicking a football around
[31:49.520 -> 31:52.400] pretending to be Martin Tyler ever aspires to.
[31:52.400 -> 31:53.240] Yeah, yeah.
[31:53.240 -> 31:55.160] And it was amazing, that final lap.
[31:55.160 -> 31:58.560] And I think that maybe we forget the speed
[31:58.560 -> 31:59.440] at which this happens.
[31:59.440 -> 32:01.600] You know, we're watching it on telly
[32:01.600 -> 32:02.960] and we're trying to process what we're seeing.
[32:02.960 -> 32:09.320] You're having to process it and speak about it and do it without ums and ahs and all this other things that broadcasters
[32:09.320 -> 32:10.320] are trying to avoid.
[32:10.320 -> 32:12.960] Ross Brawn told me he stood up and started shouting at the telly.
[32:12.960 -> 32:13.960] I said, really?
[32:13.960 -> 32:15.600] I said, was my commentary that bad?
[32:15.600 -> 32:18.320] He went, no, no, because it was so exciting.
[32:18.320 -> 32:22.600] I was shouting at the telly and roaring Lewis and Max on.
[32:22.600 -> 32:25.520] I said, good, that's my job to get you to do that.
[32:25.520 -> 32:27.600] But it just elevates the sporting moment, doesn't it?
[32:27.600 -> 32:30.140] Having the right commentary at the right moment.
[32:30.140 -> 32:31.720] Brings me on nicely actually to ask about
[32:31.720 -> 32:35.160] your favorite sports commentators yourself.
[32:35.160 -> 32:37.440] Adam on Instagram wanted to know.
[32:37.440 -> 32:41.440] Who do you most admire in other sports?
[32:41.440 -> 32:44.400] Well, I'm gonna say Murray straight away.
[32:49.440 -> 32:53.940] I don't just admire Murray Walker as a commentator and and without without Murray We wouldn't be able to be we wouldn't be doing what we're doing today. Quite frankly as commentators he brought
[32:54.580 -> 32:56.740] great personality and knowledge and
[32:57.740 -> 33:04.820] Enthusiasm to the sport, but I admire Murray as a human being he was one of the nicest most warm
[33:02.000 -> 33:05.280] I admire Murray as a human being. He was one of the nicest, most warm,
[33:05.280 -> 33:07.840] loving, welcoming human beings I've ever had the pleasure
[33:07.840 -> 33:09.400] to spend any time with.
[33:09.400 -> 33:12.680] He was a guy, I first, the night before Sky
[33:12.680 -> 33:15.120] announced the lineup for 2012,
[33:15.120 -> 33:17.000] and we could tell people we got the job.
[33:17.000 -> 33:18.640] I actually phoned Murray up,
[33:18.640 -> 33:20.400] I went, Murray, got something to tell you.
[33:20.400 -> 33:21.240] Oh, what's that, Groffley?
[33:21.240 -> 33:22.840] I said, got the job at Sky.
[33:22.840 -> 33:24.620] Oh, that's brilliant, fantastic!
[33:25.560 -> 33:28.600] And he was so supportive to us,
[33:28.600 -> 33:32.760] and we used to chat, not as often as we should have done,
[33:32.760 -> 33:34.360] but we used to chat quite a bit,
[33:34.360 -> 33:37.180] and even well after he'd retired,
[33:37.180 -> 33:39.440] he wanted to know all the gossip that was going on.
[33:39.440 -> 33:41.880] But he was just a brilliant commentator,
[33:41.880 -> 33:46.120] because he had a knack of finding the right words.
[33:46.120 -> 33:49.560] Martin Tyler, who I've mentioned a couple of times, I was a big fan of when I was a
[33:49.560 -> 33:54.680] kid and as a bigger kid and as a 50 year old kid now.
[33:54.680 -> 33:58.040] John Motsen and Barry Davis, the BBC guys.
[33:58.040 -> 34:04.040] There used to be a massive dilemma on FA Cup final day when I was a youngster.
[34:04.040 -> 34:07.080] Do I listen to Motty or Barry, whoever the BBC,
[34:07.080 -> 34:08.640] or do I listen to Brian Moore?
[34:08.640 -> 34:11.040] You know, he was another fantastic commentator as well.
[34:11.040 -> 34:12.360] Because once upon a time,
[34:12.360 -> 34:14.040] they had the Cup Final on different channels.
[34:14.040 -> 34:17.280] And my mate Paul, who lived just down the road,
[34:17.280 -> 34:18.120] he had the right idea.
[34:18.120 -> 34:19.280] He had two TVs on the go.
[34:19.280 -> 34:21.320] All the way on Cup Final Grandstand.
[34:21.320 -> 34:22.340] It was fantastic.
[34:23.760 -> 34:26.940] Sid Waddell was another one who I hugely admired.
[34:26.940 -> 34:29.640] I never got to work with Sid, but I got to know him
[34:29.640 -> 34:32.200] because I was commentating for darts on the BBC
[34:32.200 -> 34:35.340] and he was obviously doing the BBC darts on Sky.
[34:35.340 -> 34:36.700] Sid was just the greatest.
[34:36.700 -> 34:39.160] He was a proper wind-up merchant,
[34:40.160 -> 34:41.320] but just loved his darts.
[34:41.320 -> 34:43.720] And if you love darts too, that was fine.
[34:43.720 -> 34:45.640] And Sid and I would
[34:46.300 -> 34:50.000] Yeah, we chat from time to time. I saw him at his last broadcast
[34:51.280 -> 34:57.440] At the o2 for Premier League finals night where I took Martin Martin and I had done about six races together
[34:57.560 -> 35:00.600] So come on, it's kind of a night out. So where we going? I said the darts
[35:02.680 -> 35:04.760] Of Martin with a giant foam hand
[35:06.960 -> 35:10.920] of the darts. I have a picture of Martin with a giant foam hand. Oh that's brilliant. Looking a little bit out of place and wondering what the hell am I doing here but he loved it.
[35:10.920 -> 35:16.280] He really did. And I saw Sid that night and he passed away quite soon afterwards but love
[35:16.280 -> 35:27.920] Sid he was just... Some of the lines, they match the sport you you know? And great commentators just find a way to be part of the sport
[35:28.020 -> 35:30.320] without being the story, if that makes sense.
[35:30.420 -> 35:33.280] To find the right words to match the audience,
[35:33.380 -> 35:34.720] to match the sport.
[35:36.160 -> 35:40.200] Harry Carpenter was another one from way back in,
[35:40.300 -> 35:42.100] Dark, as a boxing commentator.
[35:42.200 -> 35:44.200] John Ruling as well, you know, used to...
[35:47.120 -> 35:51.160] work with both of those guys and loved their boxing commentary.
[35:51.160 -> 35:55.320] Steve Cram, I think, brings great experience
[35:55.320 -> 35:58.200] and knowledge and success and passion
[35:58.200 -> 36:01.720] to his athletics commentary.
[36:01.720 -> 36:04.280] I listen probably more to Steve doing the curling
[36:04.280 -> 36:08.180] than I do the, I'm so into curling. I find it...
[36:08.180 -> 36:09.180] This is from the Olympics?
[36:09.180 -> 36:13.720] Yeah, yeah. Honestly, if they ever put the Winter Olympics on at the same time as the Formula One,
[36:13.720 -> 36:19.360] I'd be... I would have an absolute time of it wondering what I'm gonna be watching.
[36:19.360 -> 36:26.520] I love the curling during the winter, but the life of a commentator is is rewarding and is excellent
[36:26.520 -> 36:31.960] But it is is not easy because you're here you're one word away from being the wrong word a lot of the time
[36:31.960 -> 36:37.780] But yeah, they're just some of the people that I absolutely loved Peter O'Sullivan as a horse racing
[36:38.600 -> 36:39.960] commentator
[36:39.960 -> 36:43.040] Peter Bromley who did it for BBC Radio 5 live?
[36:43.920 -> 36:47.360] Occasionally I pinch his line from 81
[36:47.360 -> 36:49.640] when Shergar won the Derby.
[36:49.640 -> 36:52.920] Shergar wins the Derby and you'll need a telescope
[36:52.920 -> 36:54.840] to see the rest.
[36:54.840 -> 36:56.080] And I might have used that.
[36:56.080 -> 36:58.000] I'm sure I did it the weekend.
[36:58.000 -> 37:00.560] Probably more applicable to F1 even than horse race.
[37:00.560 -> 37:02.680] Well Max was such a long way away.
[37:02.680 -> 37:04.480] Yeah, yeah, yeah, oh very good, very good.
[37:04.480 -> 37:07.000] You mentioned Martin there, you going to the dance with Martin.
[37:07.000 -> 37:11.000] I'm intrigued to know, when was the first time you met Martin?
[37:11.000 -> 37:14.000] And what was it like? How was your relationship built and developed?
[37:14.000 -> 37:19.000] Because obviously, you know, it is a relationship you have to nurture and develop, right?
[37:19.000 -> 37:20.000] Being a co-com.
[37:20.000 -> 37:25.680] Absolutely. We need to know know without looking at each other,
[37:25.680 -> 37:30.080] cause we've got a lot to look at when you're going to stop talking, you
[37:30.080 -> 37:33.960] know, when you need to start and you listen to the nuances in his voice.
[37:33.960 -> 37:40.320] And yeah, it, it is, it is a hopefully seamless non-crossing over
[37:40.680 -> 37:42.840] of voices from start to finish.
[37:43.400 -> 37:46.660] Um, first met Martin, obviously my first season,
[37:46.660 -> 37:51.260] didn't really talk to him a huge amount until Brazil.
[37:51.260 -> 37:54.420] Actually found ourselves sat next to each other over lunch.
[37:54.420 -> 37:57.620] And I said, I've got a question for you.
[37:57.620 -> 37:58.460] He said, what's that?
[37:58.460 -> 38:01.820] I said, with radio, if there's nothing going on,
[38:01.820 -> 38:03.900] we just say what we see and, you know,
[38:03.900 -> 38:06.400] talk about the weather and the pigeons or whatever. So, but TV, obviously people can see what nothing going on, we just say what we see and talk about the weather and the pigeons or whatever.
[38:06.400 -> 38:09.680] So, but TV, obviously people can see what's going on.
[38:09.680 -> 38:12.280] I said, do you ever struggle for things to say?
[38:12.280 -> 38:13.360] The TV commentary went,
[38:13.360 -> 38:15.320] no, there's always something to say, Crofty,
[38:15.320 -> 38:18.080] always something to say, which has stuck with me
[38:19.520 -> 38:22.480] throughout my career, that it might seem at times
[38:22.480 -> 38:26.140] that there is nothing to say, I don't know, when you're in the third hour
[38:26.140 -> 38:28.000] of the race at Spa in 21,
[38:28.000 -> 38:29.840] that should have been a race, but it wasn't.
[38:29.840 -> 38:31.760] But you'll always find something to say.
[38:31.760 -> 38:33.460] There always will be, and there was,
[38:33.460 -> 38:35.000] and there will be in the future.
[38:35.000 -> 38:40.000] But yeah, we kind of, the more, you know,
[38:40.260 -> 38:42.740] I was in Formula One and hanging around them
[38:42.740 -> 38:44.660] or we'd talk from time to time,
[38:44.660 -> 38:47.240] and then I was actually with him. I was actually Formula One and hanging around them all. We talked from time to time. And then I was actually with him.
[38:47.240 -> 38:48.640] I was actually with Martin the night
[38:48.640 -> 38:53.520] that the BBC Sky deal was signed.
[38:53.520 -> 38:55.840] Because he left very, very sharpish.
[38:55.840 -> 38:57.040] I think he got a call to say,
[38:57.040 -> 38:59.480] yeah, this deal's just been done.
[38:59.480 -> 39:01.320] And then we kind of talked quite a bit
[39:01.320 -> 39:03.520] as that autumn went on.
[39:03.520 -> 39:09.860] And remember, we had a conversation a conversation on the bridge in Korea
[39:12.220 -> 39:16.980] If you remember the old mock Poe track and had this like big bridge near the finish line
[39:17.860 -> 39:20.940] He was going one way. I was going the other we just have to stop in the middle of the bridge
[39:20.940 -> 39:26.520] We're like you've been in conversations with sky. It's And it's like, yeah, have you been in conversations?
[39:26.520 -> 39:29.320] Yeah, I think they might want us to be together.
[39:29.320 -> 39:30.160] Oh, what do you think about that?
[39:30.160 -> 39:32.760] I think it's a great idea, and so do I.
[39:32.760 -> 39:33.960] Right, brilliant.
[39:33.960 -> 39:36.760] And that's when we kind of first got the feeling
[39:36.760 -> 39:38.400] that we'd be working together.
[39:38.400 -> 39:40.600] We did one rehearsal here at Sky.
[39:40.600 -> 39:41.440] Really, yeah.
[39:41.440 -> 39:42.280] Before.
[39:42.280 -> 39:43.360] Kind of impossible to rehearse,
[39:43.360 -> 39:48.760] but I guess you just had to get used to each other's company, right? Exactly. We did the previous year's Australian Grand
[39:48.760 -> 39:55.640] Prix and our producer and number two, our head of F1, his number two came in and said,
[39:55.640 -> 40:01.520] brilliant, fantastic, let's do another one. And we both went, no. Let's save it for the
[40:01.520 -> 40:07.520] real thing. But I've thoroughly enjoyed and loved working alongside Martin and getting to know him
[40:07.520 -> 40:10.240] He is he is an amazing broadcaster
[40:10.240 -> 40:16.040] And has a huge amount of knowledge in the sport when when he speaks people listen
[40:16.360 -> 40:19.840] because he doesn't use his words lightly and and and and
[40:20.800 -> 40:22.920] knows his responsibility and
[40:24.960 -> 40:26.720] And and and acts accordingly.
[40:26.720 -> 40:30.040] And I think he's a great ambassador for the sport of Formula 1.
[40:31.040 -> 40:33.120] And he's just a great guy to stand alongside.
[40:33.120 -> 40:35.000] He's my mate. We travel the world together.
[40:35.000 -> 40:36.040] We have a chat.
[40:36.040 -> 40:37.440] And someone calls that a job.
[40:37.440 -> 40:39.440] Okay, we're going to get through some more questions.
[40:39.440 -> 40:40.880] Jay on Instagram would like to know,
[40:40.880 -> 40:45.440] if you could drive any F1 car on any F1 track in history,
[40:45.440 -> 40:47.220] what would it be and why?
[40:47.220 -> 40:49.240] And also, can you please tell us the story
[40:49.240 -> 40:51.040] of you driving an F1 car?
[40:51.040 -> 40:52.880] You actually want me to tell that story?
[40:52.880 -> 40:54.520] Well, I thought I'd been banned from.
[40:54.520 -> 40:58.000] I think, the reason why I wanted you to tell the story
[40:58.000 -> 41:00.080] is because I think it's quite remarkable.
[41:00.080 -> 41:01.440] That I fitted into it, yes.
[41:01.440 -> 41:03.460] Well, maybe, maybe.
[41:03.460 -> 41:05.680] But that it just goes to show the skill
[41:05.680 -> 41:07.600] of the people who drive the Formula One cars
[41:07.600 -> 41:10.400] because we might all sit there at home and go,
[41:10.400 -> 41:11.680] God, I could do that.
[41:11.680 -> 41:13.040] Well, I mean, maybe not as fast,
[41:13.040 -> 41:14.800] but I can still drive a Formula One car.
[41:14.800 -> 41:16.440] It doesn't quite work like that, does it?
[41:16.440 -> 41:20.320] It is a world away from anything you're gonna drive.
[41:20.320 -> 41:22.200] And it is.
[41:22.200 -> 41:25.000] I had three laps of the 2013 Renault Lotus
[41:27.360 -> 41:32.000] that Kimi Raikkonen won in around Paul Ricard.
[41:32.000 -> 41:37.000] And I'd managed to spin in the Renault 2.0 twice
[41:37.280 -> 41:38.120] earlier that day.
[41:38.120 -> 41:39.760] I managed to go a little bit too fast in the Clio
[41:39.760 -> 41:42.080] while we were learning the track as well.
[41:42.080 -> 41:43.840] But I managed to get three laps in
[41:43.840 -> 41:46.780] that were just pure unadulterated joy.
[41:47.640 -> 41:50.100] From the moment you put your foot down
[41:50.100 -> 41:54.020] and realize that actually you now feel part of the car
[41:54.020 -> 41:57.760] rather than just squashed into the cockpit.
[41:57.760 -> 41:59.800] And you get out of first gear,
[41:59.800 -> 42:02.180] which is already pretty quick.
[42:02.180 -> 42:05.000] And then you get into second gear and think, oh my.
[42:05.000 -> 42:07.760] And Sky wanted me to do a commentary while I was driving.
[42:07.760 -> 42:10.360] I think all I could say for the first act was, oh my.
[42:10.360 -> 42:12.860] It was just taking my breath away, literally.
[42:12.860 -> 42:17.860] And it's the sensation, not just of speed,
[42:17.920 -> 42:21.720] but speed through the corners and stopping speed as well.
[42:21.720 -> 42:25.120] You've got to trust this thing to do its job, and it does.
[42:25.120 -> 42:28.160] And you want to thrust forward,
[42:28.160 -> 42:30.460] but your belts hold you tight when you put the brakes on
[42:30.460 -> 42:32.120] and change of direction.
[42:32.120 -> 42:34.200] It's a phenomenal experience.
[42:35.800 -> 42:38.960] Best five minutes of my life on four wheels ever.
[42:40.040 -> 42:43.400] And will never, ever be repeated, I'm sure.
[42:43.400 -> 42:44.240] But at least I've got to do it.
[42:44.240 -> 42:46.320] I mean, very few people get to drive a Formula One car
[42:46.320 -> 42:47.840] that are not Formula One.
[42:47.840 -> 42:49.240] And it's a very small pool of people
[42:49.240 -> 42:50.080] that have ever done that.
[42:50.080 -> 42:51.680] I actually seriously put in a request
[42:51.680 -> 42:54.900] when we went back to Pauly Car for the French Grand Prix
[42:54.900 -> 42:56.720] that I should do the track guide
[42:56.720 -> 42:58.400] because I was the one member of the Sky team
[42:58.400 -> 42:59.960] that had the most recent experience
[42:59.960 -> 43:02.360] driving an F1 car around Pauly Car.
[43:02.360 -> 43:04.360] And I got voted down, to be fair.
[43:04.360 -> 43:06.680] But you do, and it's the awareness
[43:06.680 -> 43:09.880] of three or four corners ahead,
[43:09.880 -> 43:11.920] you know, of where your front wheels are.
[43:11.920 -> 43:14.600] And you know, this was before the days of the Halo
[43:14.600 -> 43:16.160] that we have now.
[43:16.160 -> 43:18.000] There was no other cars on the track as well.
[43:18.000 -> 43:21.980] I mean, how some of these drivers place their cars
[43:21.980 -> 43:24.080] with such precision and skill,
[43:25.200 -> 43:27.220] and do it lap after lap.
[43:27.220 -> 43:29.480] We should never take for granted the talent
[43:29.480 -> 43:30.960] you need to be an F1 driver.
[43:30.960 -> 43:34.840] I got back in and one of the mechanics went,
[43:34.840 -> 43:37.600] nice one Crofty, got some grips with that then,
[43:37.600 -> 43:38.880] I went, yeah, brilliant, wouldn't it?
[43:38.880 -> 43:40.920] And he went, did you change the diff
[43:40.920 -> 43:42.800] for any particular reason?
[43:42.800 -> 43:45.440] I went, did I change the diff?
[43:45.440 -> 43:47.440] Yes, you did, halfway around.
[43:47.440 -> 43:49.000] She did make you go a little bit faster,
[43:49.000 -> 43:50.320] but we didn't ask you to do that.
[43:50.320 -> 43:52.480] I said, honestly, I had no idea.
[43:52.480 -> 43:53.840] Getting crossed up.
[43:53.840 -> 43:56.200] But I had tears when it finished.
[43:56.200 -> 43:57.720] I was so emotional.
[43:57.720 -> 43:59.640] But what car would I drive?
[43:59.640 -> 44:01.140] On what track would I drive?
[44:02.360 -> 44:12.400] I think I'd like to drive the MP4-4 around Suzuka. Yeah, I'd love to
[44:12.400 -> 44:18.560] drive that car around Suzuka. And then I'd like to jump in the current Red Bull and drive
[44:18.560 -> 44:24.440] that around Suzuka. And just see what the difference is between the two record-breaking
[44:24.440 -> 44:25.920] cars. Mm-hmm. That's a great answer
[44:26.520 -> 44:32.920] Not quite a lot for us to organize here at sky one. Well, if we've I tell you what I'll get my people
[44:33.640 -> 44:39.100] McLaren's all you get your people to talk to Red Bulls. Yeah. Yeah, and I'll go on a crash diet because at the moment
[44:39.100 -> 44:41.100] I'm not fitting either
[44:41.300 -> 44:44.020] Let's look we'll try make happen a bit extraordinary
[44:45.080 -> 44:50.640] What else have we got good idea for a feature? It is a tilly one man. Who'd want to do that? Yeah, Martin Brown
[44:50.640 -> 44:55.320] Yeah, I reckon so. Do you think yeah, I'll text him now. Yeah
[44:55.760 -> 45:01.000] Yeah, I know Zuka a couple of f1 cars. Yeah, but the McLaren to the Red Bull I
[45:01.680 -> 45:15.360] Think you might say yes might make. Might make space in his diary.
[45:15.360 -> 45:20.280] Just running out of time a little bit, but I want to talk about F1 today.
[45:20.280 -> 45:29.280] And we've got a question here on Twitter of what you would do if you were Stefano Dominicali. What would you do to change the rules in F1 to make it more competitive?
[45:29.280 -> 45:30.680] That's the question.
[45:30.680 -> 45:36.640] Well, first and foremost, I'd have to get, I'd have to stop the FIA being the rules makers.
[45:36.640 -> 45:40.680] And that's the trouble the commercial rights holder has, is that they don't make the rules.
[45:40.680 -> 45:44.800] They can have an influence because they have a standing on the F1 Commission,
[45:44.800 -> 45:45.360] but they don't make the rules, They can have an influence, because they have a standing on the F1 commission.
[45:45.360 -> 45:46.360] But they don't make the rules.
[45:46.360 -> 45:48.480] The FIA do.
[45:48.480 -> 45:54.680] And I think the time has come, I think, in F1 to actually bring the two parties a lot
[45:54.680 -> 45:56.880] more closely aligned.
[45:56.880 -> 45:59.480] And they are a lot more closely aligned.
[45:59.480 -> 46:05.000] And these regulation changes, I think, have been driven by F1 rather than the FIA.
[46:06.960 -> 46:10.260] But I think we need to think about the show
[46:10.260 -> 46:13.340] and the spectacle and marketing sometimes
[46:13.340 -> 46:16.200] needs to be a bit more important than engineering,
[46:16.200 -> 46:18.760] but we need to also keep that balance
[46:18.760 -> 46:19.600] in engineering as well.
[46:19.600 -> 46:21.960] And I think we're getting there with a sprint,
[46:21.960 -> 46:25.920] but I would, personally, I think we're at the limit
[46:25.920 -> 46:27.680] for the amount of races.
[46:27.680 -> 46:30.080] I don't think we need any more races,
[46:30.080 -> 46:32.560] and sometimes less is more in that one.
[46:34.160 -> 46:37.120] We'll do 24 next year and then we'll revisit it again.
[46:37.120 -> 46:39.420] Maybe 24 might be a bit too much,
[46:39.420 -> 46:41.980] because to actually ask people to invest so much time
[46:41.980 -> 46:50.680] in the sports for 24 races as fans is asking a huge amount but I understand why it's happening. I think I think the
[46:50.680 -> 46:56.980] sprint concept is good I like it but I don't like it being part of the world
[46:56.980 -> 47:01.040] championship. I'd like two separate world championships like
[47:01.040 -> 47:06.420] cricket has T20 one day and the test match and we'll keep
[47:06.420 -> 47:08.420] them separate.
[47:08.420 -> 47:14.540] And have your sprint day on a Friday maybe, rather than the Saturday.
[47:14.540 -> 47:23.500] And have you, you could go into sprint qualifying and then the sprint with maybe a 20 minute
[47:23.500 -> 47:26.760] warm up in the morning. That's you Friday.
[47:26.760 -> 47:31.920] And then the cars are not in park for May for the rest of the weekend.
[47:31.920 -> 47:35.600] Because you then have your practice session on the Saturday morning,
[47:35.600 -> 47:39.200] Saturday qualifying, race on Sunday.
[47:39.200 -> 47:43.080] So you're keeping the two very separate for different World Championships.
[47:43.080 -> 47:48.260] And if the teams, if all the drivers don't want to run in the Sprint World Championships, fine.
[47:48.260 -> 47:50.140] There's enough reserve drivers that do.
[47:50.140 -> 47:51.400] Maybe that's a good way of getting
[47:51.400 -> 47:53.520] the reserve drivers involved in that.
[47:53.520 -> 47:55.760] So commercially, that's kind of what I'd look at.
[47:55.760 -> 47:59.260] But I think a simplification of the rules,
[47:59.260 -> 48:01.900] because they get a bit too complicated,
[48:01.900 -> 48:07.340] and we need to find a way to simplify it and just put,
[48:07.340 -> 48:11.740] you know, put the show first, uh, occasionally and blue flags.
[48:12.340 -> 48:16.180] Cause I don't, if you're good enough to be leading a race, yeah.
[48:16.260 -> 48:19.580] You good enough to pass another driver, not leading the race.
[48:19.580 -> 48:22.380] Cause they're last without them having to jump out of the way.
[48:23.160 -> 48:29.800] It might make things a lot more interesting as well. And you could do that without any investment in the sport, without any
[48:29.800 -> 48:31.760] engineering challenges whatsoever.
[48:32.080 -> 48:36.480] That is, that's a master stroke, a stroke of a flag, wave of flag.
[48:36.480 -> 48:37.640] You could actually just get rid.
[48:37.840 -> 48:40.840] You could get rid of something that I just think is unnecessary.
[48:41.120 -> 48:47.140] Other motorsport categories don't have blue flags
[48:47.140 -> 48:50.140] Mm-hmm, but but it's difficult, you know, we
[48:50.660 -> 48:55.760] We have a tradition and a heritage in Formula one that you don't want to you don't want to upset
[48:56.680 -> 49:00.660] too much and you want to keep because there are a
[49:01.460 -> 49:03.860] Fair amount of fans who don't like the sprints at all
[49:03.860 -> 49:04.120] There are a fair amount of fans who don't like the sprints at all
[49:09.200 -> 49:09.360] But maybe if you have the sprint at the start and then the rest of the weekend is a Grand Prix weekend
[49:13.640 -> 49:14.240] that might overcome that a little bit and try not to tinker too much because
[49:17.120 -> 49:18.280] By and large, we've got a really good spectacle. Yeah, absolutely
[49:20.280 -> 49:20.380] couple more two more
[49:22.380 -> 49:28.240] One is sorry. I go on a bit. No, no I mean is brilliant. Chris on Instagram would like to know if you enjoyed your time at Download Festival this year.
[49:28.240 -> 49:30.880] I loved my time at Download. Just to change the...
[49:30.880 -> 49:32.880] I'm a proper metalhead. Yeah, yeah.
[49:32.880 -> 49:36.160] I absolutely adored my time at Download this year.
[49:36.160 -> 49:40.160] It was so nice to actually go back to a heavy metal festival I hadn't been for ages.
[49:40.160 -> 49:42.160] I think I can go next year. Yes, yes.
[49:42.160 -> 49:44.560] There's no race week. Well, that's the golden ticket.
[49:44.560 -> 49:46.160] It is the golden ticket,
[49:46.160 -> 49:48.200] but I met up with my chum, some skin dread,
[49:48.200 -> 49:49.400] who are a top band,
[49:49.400 -> 49:51.200] and the new album is out now,
[49:51.200 -> 49:52.880] and it's sensational, it really is.
[49:52.880 -> 49:54.480] It's absolutely brilliant.
[49:54.480 -> 49:56.780] Unstoppable, they could have written that track
[49:56.780 -> 49:59.320] about Max Verstappen, quite frankly.
[49:59.320 -> 50:01.640] Caught up with the Parkway Drive boys as well,
[50:01.640 -> 50:02.840] who were just fantastic.
[50:10.020 -> 50:13.520] You know how, when you first gave it to the paddock, I was the same you see these f1 drivers you think I'm one Oh, there's my heroes, you know, there's no I'm crossed and and
[50:14.280 -> 50:20.100] It's great. But that's my job. All right, and and I can't stand there and queue up for autographs
[50:21.240 -> 50:23.240] You know take selfies, etc
[50:23.920 -> 50:27.120] but I can go to download download and hang around with rock stars
[50:27.120 -> 50:28.180] and treat them like rock stars,
[50:28.180 -> 50:29.680] because they are rock stars.
[50:29.680 -> 50:34.480] And I just, I find music a great release.
[50:34.480 -> 50:37.600] I find music, I need music to work to
[50:37.600 -> 50:39.200] when I'm doing all my prep notes.
[50:39.200 -> 50:40.480] I always have music on.
[50:40.480 -> 50:41.920] You have it, you've got a bit of metal going on.
[50:41.920 -> 50:42.760] Yeah, really.
[50:42.760 -> 50:44.720] Yeah, and I've always been a heavy metal fan.
[50:44.720 -> 50:45.000] Yeah. It's one of the nicest things, one of the nicest things recently, You have it, you've got a bit of metal going on. Yeah, and I've always been a heavy metal fan.
[50:45.000 -> 50:49.000] One of the nicest things, one of the nicest things recently
[50:49.000 -> 50:53.000] is I've got to know a guy called Misha Mansoor really well,
[50:53.000 -> 50:56.000] who is the man who founded a band called Periphery.
[50:56.000 -> 50:58.000] Now you'd love Periphery.
[50:58.000 -> 51:00.000] They're progressive metal.
[51:00.000 -> 51:02.000] So you know all the shouty stuff I listen to?
[51:02.000 -> 51:10.400] It's like that, but prog rock kind of weaved in. And I have to think that Loon is one of the greatest songs I've ever heard. It's an amazing track
[51:10.680 -> 51:13.940] but Misha is a massive f1 fan and
[51:14.760 -> 51:20.740] He's he's he's the guy that gets up at 5 a.m. In California to watch f1 and I'm the guy
[51:20.740 -> 51:23.040] You know that listens to his music at 5 a.m
[51:23.120 -> 51:25.600] Back in the UK when I've got an early start.
[51:25.600 -> 51:30.800] And through a friend of a friend, we've started communicating and got to know each other.
[51:30.800 -> 51:39.200] He was playing, I can't believe the planning here, he played Manchester on the Sunday of the Belgian Grand Prix.
[51:39.200 -> 51:44.200] So couldn't get over to Belgium to see the race, and I also couldn't get to see his gig,
[51:44.200 -> 51:46.900] but they're touring again next year, which is fantastic,
[51:46.900 -> 51:48.280] so I'll go and see him in London.
[51:48.280 -> 51:51.880] But it's been lovely to actually just to speak to someone
[51:51.880 -> 51:54.480] whose music I listen to, who is music,
[51:54.480 -> 51:56.800] I find absolutely inspirational,
[51:56.800 -> 51:58.280] and he keeps telling me he can't believe
[51:58.280 -> 52:00.320] he's talking to the voice of Formula One,
[52:00.320 -> 52:01.400] which is a bit stupid,
[52:01.400 -> 52:03.200] because I don't think of myself like that.
[52:03.200 -> 52:05.600] But no, I do I I love music
[52:06.280 -> 52:11.640] Music has always been a massive part of my life and I can't go anywhere without listening to it
[52:11.640 -> 52:17.600] So on the way back from this I'll probably stick I'll probably stick a bit of primordial radio on and yeah, heaven only knows
[52:18.520 -> 52:20.520] they'll
[52:20.680 -> 52:23.600] Put on for me I was gonna wear my skin to a t-shirt. Yeah. Yeah
[52:24.720 -> 52:26.000] Next time next time. I like I like that thatindred T-shirt today. Next time. Next time, next time.
[52:26.000 -> 52:28.560] I like that, you know, because we do,
[52:28.560 -> 52:30.100] I mean you can walk, especially at Silverstone,
[52:30.100 -> 52:31.440] you can walk down a Formula One paddock
[52:31.440 -> 52:33.360] and you will see celebrity after celebrity,
[52:33.360 -> 52:35.260] musician after musician, you know,
[52:35.260 -> 52:36.560] sports star after sports star.
[52:36.560 -> 52:38.600] It's quite incredible, the people that you see
[52:38.600 -> 52:39.920] sort of with your own eyes.
[52:39.920 -> 52:41.340] But it's kind of, it's quite nice
[52:41.340 -> 52:42.360] that there's still a part of you
[52:42.360 -> 52:44.360] that's sort of the child in you, isn't it?
[52:44.360 -> 52:47.080] It's kind of like, oh God, I love,
[52:47.080 -> 52:48.560] get a bit excited, get a bit giddy
[52:48.560 -> 52:50.280] just by meeting certain people.
[52:50.280 -> 52:52.320] I have waited 10 minutes, right,
[52:52.320 -> 52:55.280] on both occasions for a couple of selfies.
[52:55.280 -> 52:56.800] And I don't do too many selfies.
[52:56.800 -> 53:00.200] I occasionally do, just for the Instagram,
[53:00.200 -> 53:02.940] if I've met someone, I get on really well, Sam Ryder.
[53:04.840 -> 53:07.400] Brilliant voice, love Sam Ryder. into you on the grid. Yeah, absolutely
[53:07.800 -> 53:13.040] Well, I spoke to Sam Ryder about an hour before that interview with Martin and we actually hatched plans to go to town
[53:13.040 -> 53:15.640] Load next year because he was still with an Iron Maiden t-shirt
[53:16.440 -> 53:20.720] No one wears a maiden t-shirt around here. So we were having a great great old chat about music
[53:21.120 -> 53:23.120] but the two guys I have
[53:23.240 -> 53:25.520] waited and waited and waited and eventually got a
[53:25.520 -> 53:31.040] selfie with were Vince Neil, the lead singer of Motley Crue, who was in Austin, and last
[53:31.040 -> 53:37.320] year, two years ago, Lars Ulrich, the drummer for Metallica. I'm like, I'm not turning down
[53:37.320 -> 53:42.000] the chance. I'm never going to get the chance to meet Metallica ever again. You know, and
[53:42.000 -> 53:47.560] I saw Metallica at Download this year, and they were incredible. And they always have been, ever since I first saw them.
[53:47.560 -> 53:49.600] There you go.
[53:49.600 -> 53:57.440] Donnington87. They played Donnington87? I think that was the first time I saw Metallica.
[53:57.440 -> 53:58.440] Still going strong.
[53:58.440 -> 54:01.280] Yeah. It was in Ride the Lightning Time, which is still their best album.
[54:01.280 -> 54:02.360] I'm going to pretend that.
[54:02.360 -> 54:03.360] Which means nothing to you.
[54:03.360 -> 54:04.360] Yeah, I'm just, yeah.
[54:04.360 -> 54:06.280] Whom the Bell Tolls,
[54:06.280 -> 54:08.220] Creeping Death, Fade to Black.
[54:08.220 -> 54:09.200] In the Car on the Way Back.
[54:09.200 -> 54:10.040] Yeah.
[54:10.040 -> 54:11.220] Yeah, best of Metallica.
[54:11.220 -> 54:12.720] Actually three pronged in Metallica.
[54:12.720 -> 54:14.940] Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
[54:14.940 -> 54:17.640] Final question, and sort of,
[54:17.640 -> 54:19.000] hopefully kind of sums it up quite nicely.
[54:19.000 -> 54:20.720] This is from Max on Instagram.
[54:20.720 -> 54:23.200] What do you love most about your job?
[54:23.200 -> 54:31.520] What I love most about your job? What I love most about my job is that whenever I wake up in the morning, I have no idea what
[54:31.520 -> 54:38.920] is going to happen for the rest of that day. And as much as I prepare as best I can, as
[54:38.920 -> 54:46.240] much as I do the utmost to make sure that I'm completely on top of anything that could go on.
[54:46.240 -> 54:49.600] You're never totally sure that that's going to be the case.
[54:49.600 -> 54:53.980] And you live a life that's full of surprises
[54:53.980 -> 54:56.680] and you open yourself up to these surprises
[54:56.680 -> 55:00.120] and you walk on that tight rope without the safety net
[55:00.120 -> 55:02.120] and you get to the other side,
[55:02.120 -> 55:04.560] most of the time with a big smile on your face.
[55:04.560 -> 55:08.080] And that's what I love about my job the most.
[55:08.080 -> 55:11.280] The travel, I think the travel's great.
[55:11.280 -> 55:12.240] I love traveling the world.
[55:12.240 -> 55:14.840] I'm not gonna complain about that.
[55:14.840 -> 55:17.360] The people I work with are just,
[55:17.360 -> 55:21.240] we have a great crew of people at Sky Sports F1,
[55:21.240 -> 55:24.240] and not just people in front of the camera,
[55:24.240 -> 55:26.160] but our producers, you know,
[55:26.160 -> 55:30.680] our guys in the edit suite who can take an interview
[55:30.680 -> 55:35.520] and craft it and just make it velvety with what they do.
[55:36.720 -> 55:39.880] You know, our riggers, our sound guys
[55:39.880 -> 55:43.440] who trudge their way, you know, round circuits
[55:43.440 -> 55:45.460] in all sorts of weather, always with a smile on their way, you know, round circuits in all sorts of weather,
[55:45.460 -> 55:48.000] always with a smile on their face, you know,
[55:48.000 -> 55:50.900] and often giving you great lines to say on air as well.
[55:50.900 -> 55:54.480] You know, we just have a brilliant team of people
[55:54.480 -> 55:57.880] and working frantically, you know,
[55:57.880 -> 56:00.720] to deliver the best possible output
[56:00.720 -> 56:03.000] we ever possibly could deliver.
[56:03.000 -> 56:05.320] And to be a part of that is an honor.
[56:05.320 -> 56:08.460] To be invited into people's homes is a privilege.
[56:08.460 -> 56:11.340] And to be able to say lights out and away we go,
[56:11.340 -> 56:13.600] and then carry on talking and see what happens,
[56:13.600 -> 56:15.180] that's a joy.
[56:15.180 -> 56:16.680] And so I've got it all really.
[56:16.680 -> 56:17.740] Yeah, yeah.
[56:17.740 -> 56:18.580] Well, that's a lovely answer
[56:18.580 -> 56:20.960] and a very lovely way to end the podcast.
[56:20.960 -> 56:21.800] David Croft.
[56:21.800 -> 56:22.640] Thank you.
[56:22.640 -> 56:23.460] Crofty.
[56:23.460 -> 56:24.300] Thank you very much for your company.
[56:24.300 -> 56:27.000] No one calls me David. No one calls me Dave. Yeah. No one calls me Dave. Yeah.
[56:27.000 -> 56:29.000] Nico did once but... Definitely not Dave.
[56:29.000 -> 56:31.000] Never again. Crofty will do nice. Yeah, lovely.
[56:31.000 -> 56:36.000] Crofty, thank you very much for your time. We will be back next Tuesday on the Sky Sports F1 Podcast.
[56:36.000 -> 56:38.000] Hope you can join us then. Bye for now.
[56:37.000 -> 56:39.060] you