Hamster F1

There’s a very long tradition of people using public media to talk complete bollocks about things they don’t understand. Whether it be the old bag complaining about music on the local radio phone-in or a blogging geek talking about sport.

In this instance it’s a blogging geek talking about sport and more specifically Formula 1. But before you think I’m about to go all motor racing mad on you (I’ll leave that to DoctorVee as he’s much better at it than me) - this is really about the BBC getting the F1 rights and suggestions that the Top Gear trio could be involved somehow.

I’ve written a fair amount about Top Gear recently and I have to say it’s done wonders for my rankings - my feed subscriptions are up, my unique user numbers are up and the number of comments I’m getting are up - but I don’t intend to turn Up Your Ego into a Top Gear blog (although I might create a Top Gear section).

But this is another Top Gear (ish) post.

I’m sure you’ve all heard the news that the BBC will be showing Formula 1 after the 2009 season is over. The BBC will be showing the highest of high profile racing (and excuse me while I show my total ignorance) tournaments for five years and for the first time since losing out to ITV in the 90s.

It also looks like Aunty will be showing F1 races across the full range of their output including TV, Radio, Interactive TV, HD, Podcasts, bbc.co.uk and even I suspect the BBC iPlayer for highlights.

But, aside from where it’s going to be covered, there’s also a lot of rumours floating around the web about HOW it’s going to be covered and more specifically WHO BY.

There’s talk of Murrary Walker coming back for commentary but he isn’t exactly in his prime anymore - could he handle it? I know when he was interviewed by Radio 1 about it he suggested he’d be back in an instant.

Now there are a lot of rumours around this - most surrounding the Top Gear trio and specifically Richard Hammond - fueled by the Times Online story that suggests Richard is in ‘pole’ position to ‘take over F1 coverage on BBC’.

It doesn’t however say how this is going to work but a number of people seem to assume it will involve him commentating, which personally I think it unlikely.

First some background - of the Top Gear three James May doesn’t like racing or going fast, Richard Hammond doesn’t like F1 (or at least thats what he’s said) and Jeremy Clarkson is a hot head with too many opinions to be a decent commentator.

The Times story says that the trio will be used for more, around the race coverage.

The Top Gear team, however, will be let loose in the Monte Carlo pit lane and Formula One’s other glamorous locations in an attempt to extend the audience beyond “petrolheads”.

This seems MUCH more likely to me than having them commentate, any of them. I get the impression that, and I think this is a good one, if they’re going to be used at all it will be in a series of sketches, interviews and special packages around each race.

It will probably involve them trying new things, doing stupid things and interviewing the drivers and crew in the pitstop after each race - but I might be wrong.

Also - as an all round presenter with a love of cars - it wouldn’t surprise me if Richard Hammond did take over F1 coverage but in a Gary Linekar or Des Lynam type role - as a studio presenter.

Planet F1 seems to think Richard Hammond will become the lead commentator - but either they’ve got the wrong end of the stick from the Daily Mail/Times story OR they don’t know what a commentator does.

Here was my response to this being posted on the Final Gear forums:

I think they’ve just caught the wrong end of the stick thrown out by the original Daily Mail article and I’d take anything you read in the Daily Mail with the smallest pinch of billion year old smelly gone off salt that’s been pissed on by a woolly mammoth and then eaten by Jeremy Clarkson on his pasta, regurgitated and served in a sachet at McDonalds.

The last paragraph from the Planet F1 story says it all really and is closer to the mark of what they’ll actually be used for.

“The newspaper also reported that the BBC are planning on letting the ‘Hamster’, as Hammond is known, along with Jeremy Clarkson and James May, loose at grand prix weekends in an attempt to extend the audience beyond “petrolheads.””

It may be that Hammond will take a sort of Gary Linekar type role and ‘present’ the pre and post race programme with a panel of experts but I very much doubt he will be commentating.

Oh and for a pretty good theory on why ITV have given up on Formula 1 (despite the rise of Lewis Hamilton) read DoctorVee’s take on the subject.

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