- 27 Jun 06, 18:15#1143
Almost twenty years ago to the day, a young boy rushed into the living room of his three bedroom semi in Hertfordshire to discover something that would have an almost unparalleled influence on his early life. Stopped half in his stride, transfixed by the wood dressed television, and captivated by the colourful, competitive and mysterious world that he saw that Sunday afternoon, Formula One would forever be a part of his life.
It’s now a new millennium, and since that day in 1986 where I joined my Dad on our brown three seat sofa to watch the end of the Grand Prix, much has changed in my favourite sport. I’ve watched drivers become heroes, heroes become legends, and legends become history in a sport unequalled in technology, risk, glamour and speed. During this time I have been fortunate enough to produce the David Coulthard Supporters Site, spend an evening arguing over the merits of ‘chips in a cone’ with the great Jackie Stewart and was the first to congratulate Murray Walker on his Television Bafta in 2002.
However, today I fear I have watched my last Grand Prix. ITV’s coverage of such an awesome sporting spectacle has gone from dismal, to unacceptable, to downright intolerable. In a sport where thousandths of a second separate the top three drivers, whole laps (4 on occasion) are lost to advertising, safety car restarts are assigned to the cutting room floor, and post race press conferences are brushed aside for information on the next major football match.
Then there’s that endemic disease we all know as James Allen. His biased, clichéd and inaccurate commentary bestows the sport a somewhat tabloid flavour, only exacerbated by the dreary monotone of a man totally unrepresentative of the fans. Martin Brundle is the only saving grace of the whole programme, a driver who I had the pleasure of watching during my first encounter with F1, and the only member of the ITV team who has any knowledge, status and credibility in the sport.
My love for F1 will go on, but for the sake of its future and all the six year old fans out there, I hope ITV-F1 sinks faster than Titanic.
Rant over.
It’s now a new millennium, and since that day in 1986 where I joined my Dad on our brown three seat sofa to watch the end of the Grand Prix, much has changed in my favourite sport. I’ve watched drivers become heroes, heroes become legends, and legends become history in a sport unequalled in technology, risk, glamour and speed. During this time I have been fortunate enough to produce the David Coulthard Supporters Site, spend an evening arguing over the merits of ‘chips in a cone’ with the great Jackie Stewart and was the first to congratulate Murray Walker on his Television Bafta in 2002.
However, today I fear I have watched my last Grand Prix. ITV’s coverage of such an awesome sporting spectacle has gone from dismal, to unacceptable, to downright intolerable. In a sport where thousandths of a second separate the top three drivers, whole laps (4 on occasion) are lost to advertising, safety car restarts are assigned to the cutting room floor, and post race press conferences are brushed aside for information on the next major football match.
Then there’s that endemic disease we all know as James Allen. His biased, clichéd and inaccurate commentary bestows the sport a somewhat tabloid flavour, only exacerbated by the dreary monotone of a man totally unrepresentative of the fans. Martin Brundle is the only saving grace of the whole programme, a driver who I had the pleasure of watching during my first encounter with F1, and the only member of the ITV team who has any knowledge, status and credibility in the sport.
My love for F1 will go on, but for the sake of its future and all the six year old fans out there, I hope ITV-F1 sinks faster than Titanic.
Rant over.
Loving the allusion in the last sentence, LOL! 
