Motor Sport Magazine - The original motor racing magazine

Imagine if James Hunt was still around today, I mused to Martin Brundle at Daytona a few weeks ago. “Well, if he was I’d be out of a job!”, the BBC’s new lead commentator fired back.

The truth would probably be somewhat different. Hunt, who died of a heart attack at the age of just 45, would have struggled to hold on to a high-profile media role in the modern world. Richard Keys and Andy Gray would have had nothing on Master James! Had he lived, he’d have said something outrageous long ago and would probably have been handed his cards after a short and very nasty tabloid campaign against him. After this, I like to think he would have settled down into his new role as an outspoken, politically incorrect star columnist here at Motor Sport… and how refreshingly outspoken and irreverent those columns would have been. Such a shame he was taken from us all so early.

Hunt was a brilliant, instinctive broadcaster during his time sharing a mike with the long-suffering Murray Walker from 1980-93, in much the same way that he was a brilliant, instinctive racing driver. He shot from the hip and carried lasting prejudices (yes, poor Riccardo Patrese), and that attitude would not have sat well in this sensitive age. Can you imagine the froth that would have been generated on the web forums if Hunt was broadcasting today? They’d have loved him and lynched him.

For me, Hunt was all the greater because of his imperfections (He once turned me down for an autograph at a Brands Hatch Grand Prix because he was late for the celebrity race. Somehow, I didn’t mind  – because it was him. Even as a kid I was aware of his reputation for timing, so found the polite but firm ‘no’ and the mad rush he was in very amusing).

He took his racing intensely seriously, to the extreme of vomiting before the starts and so on, because he knew only too well how dangerous was his chosen vocation. But at the same time he refused to take life seriously away from the races – which is exactly why he agreed to pose for Patrick Lichfield’s cheeky photoshoot that adorns the cover of the April issue.

Nubile young ladies on the cover of Motor Sport? Sacrilege! Mr Tee (Motor Sport’s former proprietor) must be spinning… But if there is an image that sums up the man our writer Eoin Young struggled so hard to like, it’s this one. All that’s missing is a bottle of something strong and a fag in his mouth. Like James, we don’t like to take life too seriously here at Motor Sport, and we couldn’t resist. Especially as it highlights once again how different our world is today compared to the 1970s. Can you imagine Jenson Button taking part in such a photo shoot? (I can actually – but I don’t think McLaren, Vodafone etc would like it much! Imagine the airbrushing…)

Eoin was James’s original – and very reluctant – biographer. His personal impressions of a man who he came to know well, and eventually like a great deal, are fascinating. For those of us who only knew him as an image in photographs or as a voice on television, they are truly revealing. Incidentally, Eoin lives back in New Zealand these days and we were alarmed to hear this week of the dreadful earthquake that has devastated Christchurch. We were relieved to hear that Eoin was unhurt, although he has suffered damage to his property. From everyone at the magazine, and I’m sure all of you who read it, we send you our best wishes, Eoin.

James Hunt pops up again elsewhere in the April issue, his serious racing side highlighted within Rob Widdows’ entertaining Dispatches column on an eye-opening trip to Monaco with Hesketh Racing, and also within this month’s riveting Lunch with Murray Walker. Now, you won’t be surprised to read that Murray was typically eloquent when Simon Taylor met up with him recently. But even for Murray, this one is special. Despite suffering from a heavy bout of ’flu, he saved his best form for Motor Sport. I’ve never read a more frank and insightful piece on a man who is always a great interview.

We also look ahead to the forthcoming F1 season, with a bumper preview featuring Nigel Roebuck in discussion with Sir Jackie Stewart, a definitive explanation of the new rules – including those gimmicky moveable rear wings – and a study of the overtaking debate by former Renault technical boss Pat Symonds. Since we went to press, the Bahrain GP has been cancelled, of course, so we’re down to ‘only’ 19 races beginning in Australia on March 27. Within our issue, Jackie Stewart has some strong words on the circuits that F1 visits today and the changes that he believes are needed to inject a greater challenge into the sport. We quite agree.

You can also read our verdict on the new McLaren MP4-12C road car, find out more about Mini’s return to world rallying and catch up with comeback kings Martin Brundle and Mark Blundell during their impressive return to the cockpit at the Rolex Daytona 24 Hours.

Before I close, I should mention that our founder editor Bill Boddy celebrated his birthday this week. On February 22 WB turned 98 years old. His stories continue to file into our inbox for each issue and the magazine simply would not be the same without him. Happy birthday, WB, from all the team at Motor Sport.

Motor Sport Magazine - The original motor racing magazine

Chip Ganassi’s Grand-Am team added to its already stunning record in the Rolex 24 Hours at Daytona last weekend when its pair of BMW-powered Riley Daytona Prototypes finished one-two. Defending Grand-Am champions Scott Pruett/Memo Rojas shared the winning car with Graham Rahal and Joey Hand, while Scott Dixon/Juan Pablo Montoya/Dario Franchitti/Jamie McMurray drove Ganassi’s second car. This was Ganassi’s fourth Rolex 24 win but only its first one-two. The team scored three straight wins in 2006-08 and finished runner-up in 2009-10.

Last weekend’s sweep further embellishes Ganassi’s reputation. His teams scored successive wins in last year’s Daytona 500, Indianapolis 500 and Brickyard 400, and now the Rolex 24. Some people are calling it ‘The Chip Slam’. Grand-Am team leader Pruett, by the way, now has four Daytona 24 Hours wins to his name and has been on the podium in 14 of his 26 starts in the race.

Ganassi’s previous Rolex 24 wins came with Lexus (Toyota) engines, but Chip’s Grand-Am team switched last year to BMW power. Pruett and Rojas won the championship for BMW last season and have now scored the German manufacturer’s first Daytona victory since 1976, when Brian Redman/John Fitzpatrick/Peter Gregg won the 24 Hours in a factory BMW 3.5 CSL.

Neither of Ganassi’s cars enjoyed trouble-free runs last weekend. Montoya used his NASCAR fender-banging style to good effect on a number of occasions, but that also meant his crew had to twice change the car’s nose. Joey Hand made his debut with Ganassi’s team and did an excellent job in the winning car. Last year he drove for Bobby Rahal’s BMW GT team in the American Le Mans Series and has served a long apprenticeship in open wheel and sports cars. Hand lapped as quickly at Daytona as any of Ganassi’s drivers, and recovered well from a Sunday morning pit penalty after he was mistakenly waved out too early and hit one of his used tyres.

An indication of the thorough professionalism of Ganassi’s team was a decision during the race’s second hour to change the gear clusters in both cars. Warmer weather than anticipated and a change in wind direction meant both Ganassi cars were hitting their rev-limiters on the banking, so each car was brought in under successive yellows to remove the short gears and install a new stack of ratios.

Finishing third behind Ganassi’s cars were last year’s winners. The Action Express team ran two Riley-Porsches this year with João Barbosa/Terry Borcheller/Max Papis/Christian Fittipaldi finishing a strong third after the team’s other car was delayed by a few incidents. Martin Brundle/Mark Blundell/Mark Patterson/Zak Brown were an excellent fourth aboard United Autosports’ Riley-Ford run by Mike Shank Racing (see Damien Smith’s blog).

Motor Sport Magazine - The original motor racing magazine

What a start to the year. The Rolex 24 Hours at Daytona kicked off the 2011 season in incredible style at the weekend. Chip Ganassi Racing’s ‘super team’ took the spoils with a one-two in their BMW-powered Rileys, but this was no steamroller performance. The race was only decided in the final lap in which we dared to hope that a small miracle could come true for a certain British pair making a racing comeback in Florida.

It’s been a long time since Martin Brundle last donned a crash helmet for a serious motor race – 10 years, to be precise. The 51-year-old needed little convincing by his old mate Mark Blundell to have a crack at the Rolex 24, a race he won 23 years ago with Jaguar.

For Mark too, it was a giant challenge. At 44, he’s younger than Brundle, but race driving has taken a back seat since his last Le Mans start in 2003. However after racing at the Spa 24 Hours last year in an Audi R8 GT3, Blundell accepted the challenge set by United Autosports boss Zak Brown to make his first start at Daytona.

The pair, joined by Brown and Mark Patterson, lined up in a Riley-Ford run on behalf of United Autosports by Michael Shank Racing. Their high profile meant a flurry of media interest, but the biggest pressure came from within. Both wanted to know: could they still do it?

The answer is emphatically yes. Brundle qualified a respectable ninth in what was a truly competitive field featuring Formula 1 winner Juan Pablo Montoya, Indycar ace champions Dario Franchitti and Scott Dixon, and NASCAR heroes – including the Sprint Cup’s greatest star Jimmie Johnson. In the race the British pair gradually moved up the field through the night. On Sunday morning, the white Riley had risen to third place and a podium – something they wouldn’t have dared to expect – was within reach.

Sadly, in the final two hours Brundle was powerless to avoid slipping down to fourth. But for these old friends, ex-F1 team-mates and Le Mans winners, it had still been an incredible performance. Brundle and Blundell leave Florida to return to their day jobs at the BBC and in driver management respectively with their heads held high.

The Daytona 24 Hours is a spectacle that is simply unforgettable for anyone lucky enough to witness it. The giant superspeedway looks spectacular as night falls, and the Grand-Am sports cars put on a terrific show. The stats give some insight: 52 lead changes among 12 cars, although the large number of NASCAR-style safety car periods play a large part in keeping the pack together. There were 23 in total, with 125 of the 720 laps run under yellow – including a caution period of nearly three hours early on Sunday morning because of heavy fog.

The final safety car was called right at the end as Sascha Maassen limped back to the pits with a broken right rear wheel, shedding bodywork on the way. It led to a one-lap shoot-out after 24 hours of hard racing. Scott Pruett in Ganassi’s 01 car kept the lead he’d only taken at the final pitstops, but behind him team-mate Scott Dixon withheld a last-ditch challenge from 2010 winner João Barbosa in the Action Express Riley-Porsche.

After a stellar 2010, this was a perfect start for Ganassi and Grand-Am’s pacesetters Pruett and Memo Rojas (above with Montoya). They were joined by team debutants, the impressive BMW ALMS racer Joey Hands and new Indycar signing Graham Rahal, who claimed a Rolex Daytona watch 30 years after his father Bobby’s win at the speedway

Back in the United Autosports motor home after the race, Brundle and Blundell were a little subdued. They’d been so close to an amazing podium, but as Martin said they had to be satisfied with the pace they’d shown. They’re getting on, but old pros don’t forget how to do it.

* You can read more on Brundle and Blundell’s Daytona campaign in the April issue of Motor Sport, on sale on Friday February 25.

Motor Sport Magazine - The original motor racing magazine

Moments like this are always difficult. The motor racing world has lost two good people in recent days – two very different people but both passionate about the sport.

Tom Walkinshaw, racing driver, Grand Prix team owner, entrepreneur and rugby fan has died after a long and brave battle with cancer. Walkinshaw, a successful racer in his own right, made his mark as a team manager, a man who made things happen and who was intensely competitive. In 1984 he won the European Touring Car championship in a Jaguar XJS. His own TWR team later gave Jaguar its first win at Le Mans in 30 years and a World Sportscar Championship for Martin Brundle, who recently said he’d still be selling Toyotas in Norfolk if it hadn’t been for Walkinshaw.

Tom went on to be engineering director at Benetton, with Ross Brawn as technical director, and this partnership – along with Flavio Briatore – gave Michael Schumacher the first of his seven Formula 1 world titles. He famously took a young Schumacher away from the Jordan team, causing a great deal of publicity and not a little controversy. As well as being a passionate racing fan, Walkinshaw was a tough negotiator who built up his TWR Engineering empire on the back of his success as a driver and team owner.

After Benetton he bought a 50 per cent stake in Ligier before moving on again to take over the Arrows F1 team, employing Derek Warwick and Eddie Cheever, both of whom had driven sports cars for him. Arrows was the end of his F1 career but he went on to run an Australian touring car team, putting Holden back in the winners’ circle. A devoted rugby fan, he was chairman of Gloucester Rugby Club.

A memorial service will be held at Gloucester Cathedral on February 4, 2011 at midday.

Christopher Hilton, author of a huge number of motor racing books and biographies, died suddenly at the end of last month. He was a prolific writer who did much to popularise the sport and his Grand Prix Century will remain a useful and very readable reference book, which contains not only facts and figures, but also some good tales of seasons gone by. He is also known for his biographies of Ayrton Senna, Michael Schumacher, James Hunt and Ken Tyrrell among many others, as well as a long and interesting look at the business of being a racer entitled Inside the Mind of the Grand Prix Driver.

A memorial service will be held at Harlow Crematorium at midday on December 22 followed by a celebration of his life at the Manor of Groves in Harlow.

Motor Sport Magazine - The original motor racing magazine

Where is the best place to chew the cud on the 2010 Grand Prix season? In the office? Too dull – naturally, it’s where we talk motor racing every day. A plush restaurant? That’s Simon Taylor’s territory, surely! So how about the local pub? Now that’s more like it!

The Chelsea Ram is Motor Sport’s regular watering hole, and the perfect place to blot out the realities of economic meltdown and a freezing British winter to concentrate on what really matters. And no, I don’t just mean beer.

To give our pub debate some structure – and thus ensure our natter was actually of some use for the magazine’s pages – we picked on the major themes of the season and began talking. You won’t be surprised to hear that editor-in-chief Nigel Roebuck led the discussion and made the best stab at putting the season past into some sort of context, while Rob Widdows, Ed Foster and yours truly chipped in here and there. There are worse ways to spend a couple of hours and we enjoyed looking back at the past year in Formula 1, the result forming the backbone of the January issue, on sale now. Do let us know if you think the beer was talking too much!

Deserving World Champion Sebastian Vettel graces the cover, but the young German’s image will be vying for attention with a very special giveaway this month. We’ve compiled an audio CD of our podcast ‘chat shows’ that have been gaining a growing audience on our website over the past year, and it’s free with the January issue. The list of guests we have pulled in to join us in 2010 is a role call of the great and the good: Mario Andretti, Brian Redman, Damon Hill, Patrick Head, Christian Horner, Sir Stirling Moss, Tom Kristensen, Jochen Mass, Bobby Rahal, Martin Brundle, Emanuele Pirro and Richard Attwood all feature in this ‘best of’ compilation. Each time we pressed the record button, the stories flowed and all the guests got into the true spirit of things here at Motor Sport: in other words, saying exactly what they think on any given subject.

We hope the CD is an added bonus to complement another varied issue of the magazine. Other features this month include Simon Taylor’s lunch with David Hobbs – a man who drove a huge variety of great racing cars during a 30-year career on both sides of the pond; Eoin Young’s memories of meeting Jim Clark for the first time at the Wigram Trophy meeting of 1961; a fond recollection of the F1 team that raced in ‘British Racing Brown’ – the privateer heroes at Hexagon Racing; and a fascinating inside story on NASCAR from an old hand of F1.

I should also mention that we bid farewell to our special guest columnist this month. For the past year Bobby Rahal has brought us snapshots of his fascinating and varied life in racing, for which we thank him and wish him all the best for a successful 2011. Tune in next month to welcome our new guest columnist, who will bring his own unique perspective to our pages as we head into a new racing season.

Motor Sport Magazine - The original motor racing magazine

We know you’ve been waiting longer than usual for the next audio podcast, but I think you’ll agree this one’s worth waiting for. We gathered in the Drivers Mess at the Goodwood Revival and chatted to Stirling Moss, Bobby Rahal, Martin Brundle, Tom Kristensen, Richard Attwood, Jochen Mass, Emanuele Pirro, Christian Horner and Adrian Newey. Quite a line up…

We hope you enjoy it.

Motor Sport Magazine - The original motor racing magazine

Is this the greatest grid we’ve ever seen in 60 years of Formula 1? That’s a key question we couldn’t resist asking within our 2010 Grand Prix season preview, the cornerstone of the April issue of Motor Sport.

Now, I know better than anyone that making ‘greatest ever’ claims risks the wrath of many readers! So let’s be clear here: we’re not saying the 2010 is the greatest ever – we’re just asking the question! It should at least provoke some debate…

What isn’t in doubt is that this is the most anticipated F1 season for many a year – because of the strength of the line-up. Schumacher in a Mercedes versus Alonso in a Ferrari versus Hamilton and Button in McLarens versus Vettel and Webber in Red Bulls, not to mention true strength in depth throughout the supporting cast… We can’t wait for Bahrain on March 14.

As always in Motor Sport, we have one eye on the past as we look to the future, which is why we’d like to know how you think the grid compares to the great years of F1. Which is your favourite F1 season and which years featured the strongest line-up of aces? Do let us know what you think.

One decision for our season preview issue was particularly easy this year: who to put on the cover. Michael Schumacher isn’t exactly as well loved as some era-defining drivers from the past, but it cannot be denied that his comeback captures the imagination of anyone with even the slightest interest in F1. “So how will Schumacher get on, then?” is the question I’ve most been asked in recent weeks by anyone I’ve met who finds out what I do for a living, mostly from people with little interest in the sport, too.

In our preview, Adam Cooper has spoken to Schumacher’s closest aide to get the background story on the comeback of the century. Sabine Kehm has worked with Schuey for 10 years and she offers a fascinating insight into the sequence of events that led to the big return. The preview also features editor-in-chief Nigel Roebuck in typically entertaining and forthright discussion with Martin Brundle, Anthony Rowlinson on that ‘greatest ever’ grid and that man Cooper again on the new rules that will change the face of the races in 2010.

Away from modern F1, Simon Taylor meets Derek Warwick for lunch in Jersey, Eoin Young profiles Louis Klemantaski – one of the sport’s greatest photographers (and I’m safe on that hyperbole) – and design legend Tony Southgate brings us tales of Shadow, from his forthcoming autobiography.

All this, plus a review of our inaugural Motor Sport Hall of Fame, an event that promises to become an established curtain-raiser for many racing seasons to come.

Enjoy the issue.

Motor Sport Magazine - The original motor racing magazine

Motor Sport Magazine - The original motor racing magazine

When it was announced at the Malaysian Grand Prix last year that the BBC would be taking over the UK broadcasting rights for Formula 1 in 2009, there was an overwhelmingly positive response from both the public and paddock insiders. After 12 years of hard work, that reaction must have hurt the ITV team deeply, but the general belief was that not only would it mean an end to those pesky ad breaks, the BBC would also do a better job – and this week the Beeb revealed exactly why that perception looks certain to become reality.

In a press conference in White City this week, the broadcaster welcomed the media to meet its F1 team and explained how it plans to offer a new level of service that will revolutionise the way most of us watch Grands Prix.

Senior producer Mark Wilkin, who has editorial control of GP coverage across all BBC media, revealed that 200 hours of F1 will be broadcast this year. Qualifying and the races will be live on BBC1 (repeated later in the day for those with an early start), plus there will be a one-hour highlights package shown on BBC3 at 7pm on the evening of all races except for Brazil. So far, so ITV.

But it is the BBC’s ‘Red Button’ option that has really opened up the opportunities to give a greater depth of coverage.

All practice sessions, including those on Friday, will be shown live via the Red Button service, with commentary coming from Radio 5 Live. On race day you will be able to choose from the TV commentary or the radio equivalent, while split-screen options including on-car footage and a leaderboard will also be available.

An hour of analysis will be shown via the Red Button after the main network coverage of the race ends, all of which will be backed up by a wide-ranging service on the BBC’s hugely popular website.

Online, we can look forward to live video streaming of all on-track action, leaderboards, live text commentary and various interactive options. Extra coverage will include an ‘F1 mole’ diary-type blog and features with commentary legend Murray Walker, who is returning to his spiritual home this year to bolster the BBC’s line-up.

And if you miss a weekend’s action, the BBC’s popular iPlayer option will allow you to catch up for seven days after the race.

Wilkin explained that the BBC must “de-mystify F1” for its mass audience, but with so much coverage on offer the die-hard fans who read magazines such as Motor Sport should also be satisfied.

The broadcasting team, who all attended the press conference, has been known for months now. But here’s a rundown once again: the main commentators will be Jonathan Legard and Martin Brundle, news from the pit and paddock will come from Lee McKenzie and Ted Kravitz, and anchorman Jake Humphrey will have the job of marshalling outspoken pundits David Coulthard and Eddie Jordan. Additionally, out-of-work driver Anthony Davidson will join David Croft in the 5 Live commentary box.

Oh yes, and they will be using Fleetwood Mac’s The Chain as the theme tune – and it won’t be re-mixed or ruined in any way!

But some of the biggest questions remain unanswered. For example, how will we be informed when the drivers are using their KERS power boost and trimming their wings each lap, new innovations in 2009 to improve the racing spectacle? Legard and Brundle admitted they’re asking themselves exactly the same questions.

Perhaps they’ll get their answer from the Formula One Teams Association, which has been discussing ways to make the sport more accessible. Expect details of how F1 could finally do itself a favour this year and open up to the fans in a FOTA press conference scheduled for March 5 in Geneva. It should be great news for all of us.

Motor Sport Magazine - The original motor racing magazine

Motor Sport Magazine - The original motor racing magazine

Motor Sport Magazine - The original motor racing magazine

All we seem to hear about, as we head into winter, is recession, downturn, crisis and imminent Armageddon. Come on, there must be some good news. Well, there is, and here it is.

Martin Brundle has joined the British Broadcasting Corporation’s team that will cover Grand Prix racing for the next five years. Alright, this is not exactly new news, but it is most certainly good news. Brundle is one of the many reasons for watching Grand Prix racing on the television.

And there’s more. The BBC team will also include David Coulthard, Eddie Jordan and… yes, good old Murray Walker. All three, in their very different ways, will bring insight, controversy and humour to the coverage next season. DC and EJ will be on board as expert observers while Muddly Talker will communicate with the audience via the worldwide web, answering questions and no doubt venting a few opinions.

There have long been whispers that Martin Brundle had become disillusioned with all the politics and shenanigans that infest the modern F1 paddock. Maybe he had, and certainly his relationship with the FIA has, on occasion, become a little frosty. But good sense has prevailed and the man who stepped from the cockpit into the commentary box will continue to entertain us with his no-nonsense approach to the business of motor racing on TV. Let’s hope he starts the new season in the pithiest possible form with all the humour, honesty and expertise that we know he can throw at us on a Sunday afternoon. We don’t yet know if there will be the right chemistry with race commentator Jonathan Legard but Brundle must be allowed the space to do his thing. His grid walks for the ITV coverage were a joy to watch – it is much more difficult than it looks to ‘door-step’ folk on the grid just minutes before the start of a race.

David Coulthard will, I believe, surprise many people with his broadcasting skills. His easy manner, quick wit and intelligence, not to mention his very recent experience in the car, will add a new dimension. As for EJ, well, the only surprise will come if he is not his usual self – that is over the top, controversial and straight down the line. And, if I’m not very much mistaken, the amazing Murray Walker will be well worth reading as he taps into the BBC F1 website. The man is so damn enthusiastic and energetic at a time of life when most of us might be lifting off just a little.

So, yes, you can probably tell that I like the look of the new team. I am qualified, I think, to pre-judge this new era, having spent 25 years of my life in the business of making TV programmes. ITV did a good job, brought some new ideas, and the advertising breaks allowed time to make a cup of tea, fetch a beer, or whatever. The BBC will have to work hard to bring a new dimension. Steve Rider, a consummate professional in front of camera, thinks the Beeb will do a very good job. He should know, having worked for the Corporation for many, many years.

And finally, as they say, let’s have more pits-to-car radio, more insight into those all-important tactics and more of that new helmet camera that we saw in Brazil this year. The trick, with sport on TV, is to take the viewers inside the fence, lead them right in there, amongst the noise, the brake dust, the muck and bullets. You can’t beat being there but it’s the next best thing.

Motor Sport Magazine - The original motor racing magazine

My Editor has asked me to approach my weekly blog in a different way. He’s the Boss, so I will. He wants me to be more controversial, nothing too extreme you understand, but just a bit more opinionated, perhaps. Also, he would like me to keep it shorter. So here goes.

My background is in commercial television so I am at least a little qualified to have a view on the news that the BBC is to renew its association with Grand Prix racing from 2009. On first hearing the news – I was not in bed at the time like my friend Murray Walker – I was not so very surprised. Not because I thought ITV was doing a bad job but because I knew the BBC was keen to get its hands on a major international sport at a time when almost all other sport seems to be slipping from its grasp. I was aware too, that ITV was determined to capture as much top line football as it could afford in the knowledge that the big European games are very popular with both advertisers and viewers alike. So, the news that the BBC had done a deal with Mr Ecclestone and that ITV had beaten its rivals to the best of the European football pretty much confirmed the rumours that have been swirling around in recent months.

I look forward, as most people do, to watching a Grand Prix without the tiresome interruption of mortgage and mobile phone advertising. I am not, however, convinced that the BBC, as it is today, will do a better job of the actual race coverage than ITV is already doing. I say this because – apart from their irritating obsession with Lewis Hamilton – I think ITV has done a generally excellent job of televising Grand Prix racing to the general public. Of course the real racing aficionado will never be entirely happy because he or she probably knows as much about the sport as those who front the programmes. The coverage is not primarily created for us real, long-time enthusiasts – it is designed to appeal to a far wider audience and this, I believe, it has succeeded in doing.

I simply wonder if the mooted ‘Top Gear’ approach to Grand Prix racing will work. The Clarkson/May/Hammond take on life does work for ‘Top Gear’ and its loyal audience. But the complex business of GP racing requires, in my view, a more studied approach. We get this on ITV from both Martin Brundle in the commentary box and Ted Kravitz (above) in the pits. Martin knows his stuff and delivers it in pithy and humorous style while Kravitz gives us the facts and figures we need. When he doesn’t know something, he finds the answer. Commentators are always in the firing line and I know from experience just how hard this job can be. James Allen may not have the populist appeal of Murray Walker but that is not the point any more. He, like us, is an enthusiast and his partnership with Martin Brundle may well be a safer bet than the rather more tabloid approach of Messrs Clarkson and Hammond, should that come to pass. Call me contrary, but I also think Louise Goodman does a great job behind the scenes. Tell me when she last missed getting hold of a driver just retired from a race.

I prefer Steve Rider on my football coverage but whatever he does in front of a camera, he’s totally professional. If I had to knock the ITV F1 show, I would only ask for less news on Hamilton and more news about the other 21 cars and drivers. Yes, I know Lewis is a remarkable new discovery – and a refreshingly raunchy racer – but even Manchester United is so much more than Cristiano Ronaldo.

But it’s a done deal, a deal that Mr Ecclestone finds to his liking. Let’s just hope the BBC brings something really special to the party apart from the largely unwanted “added value” of podcasts, mobile phone updates and Internet streaming. Most of us watch on telly. And I do know that throwing the ‘Top Gear’ format at Grand Prix motor racing will not be the answer.

Motor Sport Magazine - The original motor racing magazine

The passage of time means different things to different people. For a geologist, two hundred and fifty million years is a long time. For us motor racing nuts, seven weeks is a long time. That’s how long it is until the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne. And it seems more than fifteen weeks since we saw Kimi Raikkonen cross the line at Interlagos. Wonder what he’s been doing? World Champion seems to be a very low-profile achievement these days. Pictures of Kimi grinning, in public at least, are rare but perhaps they are on the walls of every bar in Helsinki. We didn’t hear much from Fernando Alonso during the previous winter did we?

What we need, to lift the general gloom that seems to be settling over Gordon Brown’s Britain, is a British world champion. Now it is a long time since we had one of those. At Silverstone the other day I bumped into the last man to do it for us while chatting with another man who could, and should, have done it for us. Both had what it takes, skill and grit, and both are great ambassadors for motor racing. Damon Hill, now President of the BRDC and no longer looking like a heavy metal star, is busy putting back some of what he took in 1996. Derek Warwick, also busy finding, and helping, young British drivers would have made a wonderful World Champion. He turned down an offer from Frank Williams in 1985, the seat went to Mr Mansell, and he became, yes, a British world champion.

It’s all about being in the right place at the right time. Even Gordon Brown knows that. And so does Lewis Hamilton. But we don’t want to go over all that again do we? I fear that ITV will have more than enough to say as we edge closer to the sunshine of south Australia. Thank goodness for Martin Brundle, always a source of knowledge and humour amidst the hysteria. I watch ITV for Brundle in the same way as I bought Autosport, until this year of course, for Roebuck. And unless Matthew Paris makes a move, I shall continue to buy The Times. I’d like to read Alan Henry in the Guardian but the rest of that newspaper makes no sense to me at all. Reading is one of life’s great pleasures, along with Grand Prix cars at Spa, or just about any of the Greek islands.

You can probably tell I am a virgin blogger, a big, fat book beating a blog any day. But we must move with the times. Wonder what Jenks would have made of blogging? It would have been tricky for him to have got himself on line, the great man’s home not being connected to a supply of electricity. But I digress.

Seven weeks, then, until we get some real clues about the new Grand Prix season. For me, Jenson Button will be the interest. If Ross Brawn does not make a material difference to the Honda team I will be surprised. It is said that Mr Capello will do the same for England. Time, probably a couple of years in both cases, will tell. And it’s time I got on with writing up my chat with Derek Warwick. You can read it in your magazine two months from now.

Motor Sport Magazine - The original motor racing magazine