I've been meaning to write something about this but a few comments elsewhere have prompted me in to action. Namely this from snowy :
In Melbourne, and for pretty much all of last year, I abandoned the BBC coverage. I thought the Sky coverage was better and more comprehensive... and most importantly they have all the races live. I was perfectly happy with it but I was really disappointed with the coverage in Melbourne, and in general with the Sky coverage leading up to the season. The new F1 show format with audience participation is awkward and full of pointless polls and uninformed questions from fans. The Melbourne coverage was full of amateurish mistakes, for example Ted (no matter how much I like him) saying that the engines no longer have spark plugs. Many of the pundits/presenters I can't warm to either, namely Simon Lazenby (who has always seemed like an arrogant arse), David Croft (who seems to shout without actually saying anything worthwhile) and Damon Hill (who is dull as a brick). Even Martin Brundle seems a bit side-lined and increasingly tired and disinterested.
I therefore switched to the BBC coverage for Malaysia and frankly I found it far more enjoyable. Let me start with David Coulthard, who for me Is probably now the best driver pundit in the sport, although many people I'm sure will disagree with me based on the stick he gets for supposedly being biased. For me he offers the same insights as Brundle but with more charisma and laughs. At no point did I feel like the commentary was getting in the way, like is sometimes the case with David Croft, Coulthard and Edwards were giving information when it was needed but not afraid of a few moments of silence. Lee McKenzie has always been fantastic and probably should have been given the presenter role ahead of Suzi Perry, but Suzi has at least settled in to the role somewhat and is no more annoying than Simon Lazenby. The pre-qualifying/race pieces with Webber and Rosberg were also excellent and insightful.
Basically I found the BBC coverage much more natural, the Sky coverage (at least in Melbourne) seemed forced. The BBC coverage isn't what is used to be by any stretch of the imagination though, and I don't agree with some of the decisions they've made like sacking Gary Anderson.
Anyway, this thread can be used for any comments about the 2014 coverage from now on. Aside from the BBC/Sky debate FOM seem to have been slow off the mark with their graphics in the coverage, but we are starting to get information about fuel usage etc. trickling in.
In Melbourne, and for pretty much all of last year, I abandoned the BBC coverage. I thought the Sky coverage was better and more comprehensive... and most importantly they have all the races live. I was perfectly happy with it but I was really disappointed with the coverage in Melbourne, and in general with the Sky coverage leading up to the season. The new F1 show format with audience participation is awkward and full of pointless polls and uninformed questions from fans. The Melbourne coverage was full of amateurish mistakes, for example Ted (no matter how much I like him) saying that the engines no longer have spark plugs. Many of the pundits/presenters I can't warm to either, namely Simon Lazenby (who has always seemed like an arrogant arse), David Croft (who seems to shout without actually saying anything worthwhile) and Damon Hill (who is dull as a brick). Even Martin Brundle seems a bit side-lined and increasingly tired and disinterested.
I therefore switched to the BBC coverage for Malaysia and frankly I found it far more enjoyable. Let me start with David Coulthard, who for me Is probably now the best driver pundit in the sport, although many people I'm sure will disagree with me based on the stick he gets for supposedly being biased. For me he offers the same insights as Brundle but with more charisma and laughs. At no point did I feel like the commentary was getting in the way, like is sometimes the case with David Croft, Coulthard and Edwards were giving information when it was needed but not afraid of a few moments of silence. Lee McKenzie has always been fantastic and probably should have been given the presenter role ahead of Suzi Perry, but Suzi has at least settled in to the role somewhat and is no more annoying than Simon Lazenby. The pre-qualifying/race pieces with Webber and Rosberg were also excellent and insightful.
Basically I found the BBC coverage much more natural, the Sky coverage (at least in Melbourne) seemed forced. The BBC coverage isn't what is used to be by any stretch of the imagination though, and I don't agree with some of the decisions they've made like sacking Gary Anderson.
Anyway, this thread can be used for any comments about the 2014 coverage from now on. Aside from the BBC/Sky debate FOM seem to have been slow off the mark with their graphics in the coverage, but we are starting to get information about fuel usage etc. trickling in.
... unless of course I already have 
.
