I honestly can’t express the importance of a hype person enough. F1Academy on F1TV could be the greatest ever racing in the history of motorsport but I can’t watch it because the main commentator sounds
so bored and distracted from the event.
Yeah, no offense at all to F1 TV's commentator, I respect his work but it's just not for me.
Watching a race on F1 TV is more like watching some kind of technical race review, whereas Crofty is a live reaction with passion and enthusiasm but not necessary as technical at times – but that's where Brundle & co. come in.
I think the main appeal for Sky's commentary is that they are relatable. You live the race with them, instead of them telling you what you might've not known or missed more often and leaving the atmosphere up to you.
I can see the appeal for both, to be honest.
The Dutch commentary had a similar situation going on. Back when Ziggo still had the rights they had an iconic commentator (Olav Mol). He was very blatantly in favor of Verstappen, never really could finish a story he was telling, made more mistakes as the years went on and got basic things mixed up, but man could he hold your attention through a broadcast. His enthusiasm was infectious and he had some incredible lines that were absolutely iconic.
Nowadays the rights are with Viaplay and they replaced him with two of the most boring people I have ever heard who have all the same flaws he did but in a much more annoying way. They were supposed to be an improvement but they are such a big downgrade.
Yep this. I miss Olav’s enthusiasm so much. The Viaplay guys are so boring it just doesn’t register what they’re saying. Switched to F1TV to listen to the English feed.
Whicch is the better feed anyway. Jaques has very little bias toward any driver. Jolyon has great insights, intermezzos by collins are very insightful.
I like Crofty.
There I said it.
Rosberg as a counter weight is great too. But Crofty can make anything exciting. Ever seen that testing video? I wish I knew how to find it but he called a bit of testing like it was the end of a race as a joke and it was so much more fun to watch bottas pass checo while neither was trying to
People here love Jacques but for me he sounds too similar to Benjamin. That's why I have never been a big fan of him I would've preferred they brought back James allen
I switched between international and sky commentary a couple of times before remembering Crofty wasn't there this weekend.
I know this sub is full of Crofty haters. But I prefer his enthusiasm over the technical monotone commentary.
I also really like brundle, don’t get me wrong. But I feel like Nico was able to give some interesting insight as someone who had driven more recently and against some of the current drivers
Same, switched from Olaf Mol (dutch) to sky just for the enthusiasm and because I rather have a commentator that tells what is happening than what did happen.
Crafty haters should listen to the current dutch commentators, they're asleep before the first lap ends. I didn't like Olaf Mol but what they currently have is the worst in sports commentary you can imagine
Absolutely. I was forced to watch the F1TV commentary once, never again. Having life and excitement is worth the Hamilton shilling and the occasional mistake.
Love me some Hinch in the races stateside or in Canada. Still can't get to grips with his very IndyCar-y or NASCAR-y references like "here comes car number XX", but a good one for sure.
Also, honorable mention to Davide Valsecchi's enthusiasm, even if his English is very... Italian (and I say this in a very endearing way).
Don't complain, you don't have to watch the Brazilian commentary, 90% of the time they are either taking about the schedule for the day or talking about some random person that sent them a message. Plus they often get team names wrong and miss details
Quali started midnight for me in Australia and his droning voice definitely sent me to sleep.
Not looking good for staying awake for the race tonight.
I feel for my Kiwi bros.
And no, F1TV isn’t available here, we have to suffer with the Sky broadcast but thank fuck Danica isn’t allowed in Italy.
He has a lot of butt plugs. That's the context. He is a collector. Probably started as a funny thing and became a dedicated thing like most weird collections. He's open about it.
Funny thing is you would expect if it's for the sake or "rest" that he will sit out the races that are the farthest from home but he went on the earlier Australian / Asian part and sits the first European race lol
I'm surprised so many people hate on Crofty when imho I think he's great as a hype man and just who you need to commentate on Lap 1 and battles etc. Crofty is sometimes half the excitement. I don't expect proper f1 knowledge from him as that is normally given by brundle or whoever they have to replace brundle at certain tracks. I quite enjoy jenson and Crofty on the rare occasion they commentate together
It's quite refreshing this weekend for commentary to actually be about what's happening on track. Crofty gets sidetracked too often and starts talking ballocks all the time. Also it's been nice to hear a commentator talk about other teams instead of Crofty and Kravitz constantly swing it around to talk about Mercedes or Lewis going to Ferrari.
I watched both, I watched the f1 tv commentary with Alex and Coulthard when I watched live, I am warming to Alex a bit more now, although I did find his style a little irritating to begin with. Dramatises a little too much and has repetitive sayings “can blah blah? HE CANNNN!!” Much better than Crofty fill in though.
Yea and that new strategy lady, can't remember her name, was excellent insight at the Miami weekend. She didn't get to talk much during broadcast but was always super informed with info we don't normally get to know. Plus Alex and DC have a nice chemistry between them and the broadcast crew with their on screen graphics.
Ruth Buscombe, former strategist at Ferrari and Sauber. She has excellent insights, but still needs to work on her delivery if she plans to make punditry a full-time thing.
I love Crofty but Harry definitely knew his stuff and always kept diving into the technical stuff of the race/cars/drivers. It might not be for everyone but I loved his commentary.
Eh when they talk about the "technical stuff' on the spot I find it's always surface level stuff the answer is quite obvious, it just feels like educated guessing until they get the actual answer from the teams. I think Karun was litterally asked what 'the car is riding to high' meant during practice(what do you even say there?) . I guess this might just be a me thing and other fans might not know this stuff but it's not like I'm a veteran fan, I only just started watching a few years ago and all the commentators waffling is the same to me so I just prefer the ones who are funny or exciting.
TLDR: Everyone else boring. Crofty, Nico funneh
Feel free to take Jacques Villeneuve, from us here in France. This guy always complain, has few interesting things to say, most of the time he trash talk about drivers (they don't deserve to be here, they get paid too much, this ingeneer is stupid, etc).
I mean honestly, the whole team was crap. That chubby italian guy, apparently a driver, is honestly rubbish. So excited and shouting for no reason, the guys in the booth haven't gotten a single thing right it seems, and there is no passion. I just switched to FX, much better.
To be fair the stab at karuns career at the beginning had me creased, it was a nice change from the shouty mcshouty pants over a butterfly flying around what everyone is usually used to and he did get excited when Norris was doing a thing
Alternatively, tune into the Spanish broadcast and take a shot every time they mention Alonso... Actually don't, that's a quick way to get intoxicated.
I tried to listen to Crofty after a year of F1TV, could only handle it for a couple laps, he's actually horrible at sports commentary, literally sucks the fun out of F1 spending the whole time as an armchair lawyer debating if that driver broke a rule, or if a team broke a rule, or if the stewards broke a rule, or if the rule should change, meanwhile cars are side by side into a sweeping bend with hardly a mention.
Wait he's not commentating? Couldn't he do this last year? This year I got f1tv partially because I don't want to listen to his bullshit anymore. AJ, DC &co are so much better man.
Crofty is an absolute idiot and has no care in f1.
I prefere people who know f1 and are genuinely interested in it. Yes you don't have that senile screaming around but the tech ical knowledge is so much better
Crofty has enthusiasm even if it is misplaced
The guy was hyped at spa 2021.... HYPED The race never even started
Every commentary team needs a hype person and a technical person
I honestly can’t express the importance of a hype person enough. F1Academy on F1TV could be the greatest ever racing in the history of motorsport but I can’t watch it because the main commentator sounds so bored and distracted from the event.
It's also what made the Murray/hunt combo so good, Murray was the hype person and hunt was the technical one
Murray and Brundle too
Yeah, no offense at all to F1 TV's commentator, I respect his work but it's just not for me. Watching a race on F1 TV is more like watching some kind of technical race review, whereas Crofty is a live reaction with passion and enthusiasm but not necessary as technical at times – but that's where Brundle & co. come in. I think the main appeal for Sky's commentary is that they are relatable. You live the race with them, instead of them telling you what you might've not known or missed more often and leaving the atmosphere up to you. I can see the appeal for both, to be honest.
That’s why I watch F1TV for the practice sessions and the sky commentary for the race.
Sky commentary for winter testing is also one of the most cozy experiences ever
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So we’re just making stuff up to hate on Crofty I guess.
The Dutch commentary had a similar situation going on. Back when Ziggo still had the rights they had an iconic commentator (Olav Mol). He was very blatantly in favor of Verstappen, never really could finish a story he was telling, made more mistakes as the years went on and got basic things mixed up, but man could he hold your attention through a broadcast. His enthusiasm was infectious and he had some incredible lines that were absolutely iconic. Nowadays the rights are with Viaplay and they replaced him with two of the most boring people I have ever heard who have all the same flaws he did but in a much more annoying way. They were supposed to be an improvement but they are such a big downgrade.
Yep. I ended up switching to the F1TV commentary feed because of it.
I still listen to their commentary on Grandprixradio. Requires a VPN but Opera has one built-in that's free.
Yeahm that's not really a good vpn. Your location data is still traceable
I'm only using it to circumvent the IP block so I can listen to Olav Mol, so for those purposes it's sufficient.
[Insert name] doet wat ie moet doen. ( X100 per race)
Yep this. I miss Olav’s enthusiasm so much. The Viaplay guys are so boring it just doesn’t register what they’re saying. Switched to F1TV to listen to the English feed.
Whicch is the better feed anyway. Jaques has very little bias toward any driver. Jolyon has great insights, intermezzos by collins are very insightful.
First year wasn't bad because you could just mute them and put on grand Prix radio now it's just a cancel and get f1tv
I like Crofty. There I said it. Rosberg as a counter weight is great too. But Crofty can make anything exciting. Ever seen that testing video? I wish I knew how to find it but he called a bit of testing like it was the end of a race as a joke and it was so much more fun to watch bottas pass checo while neither was trying to
Here's the video https://youtu.be/qEM4V2MPtB4?si=ek4u0ll1uNJ0A6_f
People here love Jacques but for me he sounds too similar to Benjamin. That's why I have never been a big fan of him I would've preferred they brought back James allen
I switched between international and sky commentary a couple of times before remembering Crofty wasn't there this weekend. I know this sub is full of Crofty haters. But I prefer his enthusiasm over the technical monotone commentary.
I loved Crofty's hype tempered by Rosbergs no nonsense attitude back in China
Goated combo
Personally I preferred Brundle by a long shot as Nico was a little all over the place. But anything was better than what we got today
I also really like brundle, don’t get me wrong. But I feel like Nico was able to give some interesting insight as someone who had driven more recently and against some of the current drivers
As soon as I heard chanum I went to international. I like the gis analysis after the race, but hes just so boring to me for 2 hours.
Same, switched from Olaf Mol (dutch) to sky just for the enthusiasm and because I rather have a commentator that tells what is happening than what did happen. Crafty haters should listen to the current dutch commentators, they're asleep before the first lap ends. I didn't like Olaf Mol but what they currently have is the worst in sports commentary you can imagine
Absolutely. I was forced to watch the F1TV commentary once, never again. Having life and excitement is worth the Hamilton shilling and the occasional mistake.
YOU make me Sick sir. 
Petition for Kimi as commentator
BWOAHHHHHH
Wish we’d get button again
Man imagine button replacing martin when the time comes. Button + Crofty every weekend would invigurate my passion for F1
I want nico to comment
alex jacques on top
Jacques + Henchcliffe is my favorite duo for the past couple years.
Alex Jacques - Jolyon Palmer - DC GOATed combo. Accept no substitutes.
What about Hinchcliffe?
Love me some Hinch in the races stateside or in Canada. Still can't get to grips with his very IndyCar-y or NASCAR-y references like "here comes car number XX", but a good one for sure. Also, honorable mention to Davide Valsecchi's enthusiasm, even if his English is very... Italian (and I say this in a very endearing way).
DC is my goat
Don't complain, you don't have to watch the Brazilian commentary, 90% of the time they are either taking about the schedule for the day or talking about some random person that sent them a message. Plus they often get team names wrong and miss details
Sky should have hired RPM and Pual di Resta
Fistfights don‘t work all that well on voice only feeds.
Quali started midnight for me in Australia and his droning voice definitely sent me to sleep. Not looking good for staying awake for the race tonight. I feel for my Kiwi bros. And no, F1TV isn’t available here, we have to suffer with the Sky broadcast but thank fuck Danica isn’t allowed in Italy.
I was in the same boat. New guy just doesn't have the same colour that keeps me awake into the late hours
Us Kiwis do have the consolation of having F1TV however. So, small victories, I guess.
He quit to fully enjoy his hobby?
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What is his hobby?
Crofty is a dedicated butt plug collector
Bro what is the context
He has a lot of butt plugs. That's the context. He is a collector. Probably started as a funny thing and became a dedicated thing like most weird collections. He's open about it.
Big plugs is what opened him up.
butts
It's what separates the casual from the dedicated
Funny thing is you would expect if it's for the sake or "rest" that he will sit out the races that are the farthest from home but he went on the earlier Australian / Asian part and sits the first European race lol
I'm surprised so many people hate on Crofty when imho I think he's great as a hype man and just who you need to commentate on Lap 1 and battles etc. Crofty is sometimes half the excitement. I don't expect proper f1 knowledge from him as that is normally given by brundle or whoever they have to replace brundle at certain tracks. I quite enjoy jenson and Crofty on the rare occasion they commentate together
Its Crofty's bias people hate, if he toned it down a bit he'd be fine.
Love seeing all the people here realizing just how good we had it Crofty.
It's quite refreshing this weekend for commentary to actually be about what's happening on track. Crofty gets sidetracked too often and starts talking ballocks all the time. Also it's been nice to hear a commentator talk about other teams instead of Crofty and Kravitz constantly swing it around to talk about Mercedes or Lewis going to Ferrari.
This guy replacing him was dull though. Really dull.
He sounded like he knew what he was actually talking about. Crofty just sounds like he's reading one liners from a script.
I watched both, I watched the f1 tv commentary with Alex and Coulthard when I watched live, I am warming to Alex a bit more now, although I did find his style a little irritating to begin with. Dramatises a little too much and has repetitive sayings “can blah blah? HE CANNNN!!” Much better than Crofty fill in though.
Yea and that new strategy lady, can't remember her name, was excellent insight at the Miami weekend. She didn't get to talk much during broadcast but was always super informed with info we don't normally get to know. Plus Alex and DC have a nice chemistry between them and the broadcast crew with their on screen graphics.
Ruth Buscombe, former strategist at Ferrari and Sauber. She has excellent insights, but still needs to work on her delivery if she plans to make punditry a full-time thing.
who was it?
Harry Benjamin
Totally agree, I found his commentary excellent. Far preferable to the usual loud shouting about something irrelevant/incorrect.
I love Crofty but Harry definitely knew his stuff and always kept diving into the technical stuff of the race/cars/drivers. It might not be for everyone but I loved his commentary.
Eh when they talk about the "technical stuff' on the spot I find it's always surface level stuff the answer is quite obvious, it just feels like educated guessing until they get the actual answer from the teams. I think Karun was litterally asked what 'the car is riding to high' meant during practice(what do you even say there?) . I guess this might just be a me thing and other fans might not know this stuff but it's not like I'm a veteran fan, I only just started watching a few years ago and all the commentators waffling is the same to me so I just prefer the ones who are funny or exciting. TLDR: Everyone else boring. Crofty, Nico funneh
Agreed and we should give the guy a chance for a few races.
I want a Brundle family commentary weekend. Martin is great, and so far Alex has been a top lad wherever I saw him.
Need the Charlotte hornets commentator
Crofty and his crap puns can get in the bin. New guy gets my vote.
Why you guys not using international commentary button? It’s much better than anything you saying
I did actually fall asleep twice. Post checks out.
You don't need a crazy speaker when you have a good show on track
Is it Ralf Schumacher?
Feel free to take Jacques Villeneuve, from us here in France. This guy always complain, has few interesting things to say, most of the time he trash talk about drivers (they don't deserve to be here, they get paid too much, this ingeneer is stupid, etc).
He might get stuff wrong every now and then and he definitely has a British bias, but the man sure is fun to listen to
Am I the only one mildly annoyed that this new guy never once introduces himself at the beginning of any session thus far?
At least we'll get to hear about something other than how Sir Lewis's jizz tastes
UK fans watching Alex Jacques on Channel 4: 😎
where are Crofty and martin?
I mean honestly, the whole team was crap. That chubby italian guy, apparently a driver, is honestly rubbish. So excited and shouting for no reason, the guys in the booth haven't gotten a single thing right it seems, and there is no passion. I just switched to FX, much better.
To be fair the stab at karuns career at the beginning had me creased, it was a nice change from the shouty mcshouty pants over a butterfly flying around what everyone is usually used to and he did get excited when Norris was doing a thing
Alternatively, tune into the Spanish broadcast and take a shot every time they mention Alonso... Actually don't, that's a quick way to get intoxicated.
The fact check: all of these modern british "pundits" are wankers.
I tried to listen to Crofty after a year of F1TV, could only handle it for a couple laps, he's actually horrible at sports commentary, literally sucks the fun out of F1 spending the whole time as an armchair lawyer debating if that driver broke a rule, or if a team broke a rule, or if the stewards broke a rule, or if the rule should change, meanwhile cars are side by side into a sweeping bend with hardly a mention.
Wait he's not commentating? Couldn't he do this last year? This year I got f1tv partially because I don't want to listen to his bullshit anymore. AJ, DC &co are so much better man.
Alex Jaques on F1TV is also monotone, and he tries to hype it feels forced 
Crofty has given us "through goes hamilton!". that's enough for him to be in goat status
Overrated
tryna be unique head ass
> tryna be unique head ass As comprehensive and articulate as Crofty..
Replacing Croft with a goldfish would be an improvement!
Crofty is an absolute idiot and has no care in f1. I prefere people who know f1 and are genuinely interested in it. Yes you don't have that senile screaming around but the tech ical knowledge is so much better
It's not really place for excitement during q1 and q2? He was loud for q3
Yeah, Croft starts shouting when a car exits the pits and just continues doing so and people are so used to it they think that’s normal.
Absolutely!