And what exactly has James Allen got against Nick Heidfeld? He’s really starting to test my patience with his unwarranted discrimination. It seems Allen has a personal vendetta against the German to taint his presence in Formula One.

James Allen knows a lot but bores me, and Louise gets on my nerves.

no adverts= brilliant

and we need to stop the Hamilton partisan rubbish, I can’t stand Hamilton and I hate him more because of their coverage and bottom kissing.

Having said all that, I much prefer the F1 coverage on Speed (US channel). It’s so much better with the 4 guys on that show, and they have great chemistry. The British feed is bloody boring in comparison, and needs upgrading (but keep Brundle).

Please please BBC don’t use anyone else like, Murray “I can’t remember anything” Walker. Martin and James are the men for the job

I guess ITV’s problem is that pre- and post- race is nice, but it’s the race that counts. And with ITV having become WAY TOO pro-Lewis, they’ve whittled away whatever objectivity and credibility they had (even their pre- and post- race is way too focused on Lewis now).

The BBC has their own team of experienced presenters (led by David Croft) and I expect that they will be very much visible starting 2009, but they’d be unbelievably stupid not to keep Brundle (who has taken Murray’s place as the fans’ favorite commentator).

And I’m sure that as ITV has raised the bar, the BBC will have no choice but to equal it at the very least. Otherwise, that wouldn’t do their ratings very good, would it?

he did 5live and then itv a couple of times. was brilliant.

and that’s why he won’t be in the box

fwiw, my money’s on:

- croftie & brundle in the box
- x2 new presenters in the pits / garages
- tamara doing some PR guff

I personally don’t like the pre-race build-up aside from Brundle’s grid walk. I find pre-recorded bits about Heikki Kovalainen cooking dreadfully dull, and they tend to show the same bits from Saturday on the Sunday show. I get why this is done, because not everyone watches qualifying, and I also understand that in order to maximise their viewers, they need to cater for lots of different type of fans. But I want to watch motor sport.

Whether or not the BBC will be better will have to remain to be seen, but I did enjoy their show when they last broadcast it in the nineties. There wasn’t much build-up, just the necessary news and then on with the racing. Perhaps that doesn’t work in this day and age, but for me it is great.

Opinions will always be divided and that is what makes everything fun.

@sidepodcast: They won’t get a balanced coverage with Allen in the commentary box, charter or no charter.

I’ve a feeling the line-up for BBC’s commentary team will be this year’s big debating and speculating point.

@Craig: I have that feeling as well.

This is from Roger Mosey, Director of BBC Sport – so even they aren’t immune to mentioning Lewis at every opportunity!

ITV do have to take credit for making F1 coverage what it is today – I think the BBC had it for so long that it was taken for granted a bit, but with ITV’s revamp and also competition from Sky in other areas of sport I think the BBC’s coverage will be up there with the best.

As far as the pre-race and pre-quali shows, I hope they stay at a decent length – but only if they contain unique new content and aren’t both filled with the same things!

I’ve a feeling the line-up for BBC’s commentary team will be this year’s big debating and speculating point.

the good news is the bbc have a charter to ahere to. it’s that very thing that stops 5live’s coverage from going ott on the hamilton hype and should mean balanced and equal coverage with british drivers for fans next year.

On this occasion Oliver, I would have to disagree. Although the end of the adverts is very welcomed, it’s perhaps the only part of the move from ITV to the BBC that I think I’ll enjoy.

ITV have made a great job of making the show what it is today and I think the BBC will struggle to compete, especially if they decide not to use the experience of the current presenters.

I would hate for the commentators to have very little knowledge about formula one like they do on SpeedTV as this just makes for poor commentary.

Another thing I have enjoyed from ITV is the pre qual/race build up shows where they interview the drivers and have technical/topical/political sections. This gives the viewer current F1 news as well as more insight into the sport.

Unless the BBC can match or better the TV format that ITV has presented for the past few years, then I think they will severely upset the current fan base which F1 doesn’t need right now since it current on an upwards slope.

ITV F1… I will miss you xxx

Cheers
Stephen