[eXC3Kvnn]

Was it not Murray Walker and Jonathan Palmer at the BBC and then Murray made the switch to ITV and teamed up with Brundle and James Allen was in the pits? I hope Brundle moves to the BBC, don't care about the rest really.

Brundle was still racing in '96 actually so I don't know who the co-commentator was that year. Blundell at some races?

[HugoSimon]

I can only really remember Murray Walker and James Hunt together at the BBC. James Hunt died in 1993, and Murray was obviously paired up with somebody... wasn't Brundle at that time as he was still racing with Ligier and you're right that he was racing in 1996 (Jordan).

[VogsHoock]

Just found this on Wiki:

On March 20th 2008, while being interviewed on BBC Radio 5 Live, Walker was asked if he'd consider a return to the TV commentary box when Formula 1 returns to the BBC in 2009. He answered "Never say never". He has done a lot of commentary with other things since he's left F1, so I'd say there's a good chance he would come back at least for one season. I reckon he has to miss it a little bit [yes]

[errolespopume]

ITV didnt actually film the races they have no control over even what footage you see on your TV the race director controls everything so ITV only had input over the british grand prix.

i doubt you will see any f1 in HD from the bbc, years ago there used to be a dedicated F1 channel that was expensive but they allowed you to choose what action to watch and which camera angles you wanted, i dont know wether there still around though.

dont see why not, i know f1 have there own crew and guest directors, all F1 in house production is done in HD. I'm sure Bernie will want to push the new tech as much as possible. there was a sky channel yes, £12/race was a great idea but very over priced, but it was nice being able to swtich between all the cars and different camera when u want too

[Neitteloxesia]

I hope the BBC don't cut down on the amount of coverage we get, i.e. the qualifying, background stuff and full repeats of early morning races etc.

[thierabess]

hope bbc keep the practive sessions aswell even if there online only like with itv

[eXC3Kvnn]

I hope the BBC don't cut down on the amount of coverage we get, i.e. the qualifying, background stuff and full repeats of early morning races etc.

I remember when the BBC had F1 coverage before. It would be part of Granstand and they'd cut to the circuit 5 mins before the race started. That's when they only had the 2 channels though - much has changed since then.

Please no one even talk about a Murray Walker return . It was bad enough 10 years ago, and he's 84 now.

[Neitteloxesia]

I remember when the BBC had F1 coverage before. It would be part of Granstand and they'd cut to the circuit 5 mins before the race started. That's when they only had the 2 channels though - much has changed since then.

Yeah, I remember that too. That's why I'm a little worried about exactly how much coverage the BBC will give F1 this time around.

[HugoSimon]

Yeah, I remember that too. That's why I'm a little worried about exactly how much coverage the BBC will give F1 this time around.

That's one of the things I'm concerned about... Take Australia, Malaysia and the Chinese races, at the moment they are all on very early here in the UK (Australia race start 04:30, Malaysia was 07:00 and China is somewhere in that ballpark too), somehow I don't see the Beeb showing live coverage at that time and simply showing a rerun in the afternoon.

That might not sound too bad, but when you consider that various online sites will be reporting the results as soon as the race is finished along with the Broadcast news it's very hard to avoid hearing what the result is spoiling the race.

Also, what happens if a Grand Prix clashes with another major sporting event (Wimbledon, Football and the Olympics in 2012) will it simply get tossed into a graveyard slot?

This is potentially a bad move, but I guess we'll have to wait and see...

[slima]

well there's BBC1 and BBC2?
Could be that only one of them does sports..i wouldnt know

[HugoSimon]

well there's BBC1 and BBC2?
Could be that only one of them does sports..i wouldnt know

There is BBC Three and BBC Four too

The Beeb don't stipulate that sport is shown on only one channel, popular sports such as football and at the moment the Rugby is shown on BBC1, things like Snooker, Darts, MotoGP are shown on BBC2. However, the first ever MotoGP night race was shown on BBC Three since it was Sunday night and didn't want to spoil the "Primetime" viewing on BBC2.

Formula 1 I feel will have it's home on BBC2, so things would most likely be shunted around to cope with it, however come summertime when Wimbledon is on then the tennis fans will be moaning about not being able to watch a different match on the 'other side'. (Tennis is usually shown on BBC1,2 and interactive channels for different courts). It really is a case of wait and see.