F1 on Channel 4

[Swervin_Mervin]

It doesn't tell you anything on the All4 app about the results, so not sure what the problem is.

And the BBC are/were the very worst at giving away results of sports before they show the highlights.

[swisstoni]

Meanwhile on another thread there's someone moaning about the Beeb not reporting F1 results more prominently.

[Eric Mc]

Swervin_Mervin said:

It doesn't tell you anything on the All4 app about the results, so not sure what the problem is.

And the BBC are/were the very worst at giving away results of sports before they show the highlights.

All I know is that yesterday I went to watch the qualifying on their website and there was a link which said, "Channel 4 Qualifying Bahrain - Hamilton Gets Pole".

So, the very thing most people DIDN'T want to know was revealed in the link that took you to what you wanted to see. That is just dopey.

[Dryce]

Adam Ansel said:

David Coulthard owns the production company that makes the C4 F1 programmes. Hence giving his mate Webber the work as pundit.
Suzie Wolff as the second pundit is a breath of fresh air and brings knowledge and incisiveness to the job. A very good choice, with her obvious intelligence she will grow into the role.
Steve Jones is a good choice as anchor.

I thought Steve Jones was improving in the qualy programme - but had regressed in the post race. I think right now he's the weakest anchor I've ever seen on F1 - and he needs to get himself sorted out.

DC, Webber, and Wolff were a good package. Came across better than the BBC setup last year.

DC has been good in the commentary over the last few years - but he comes across as very very sharp right now.

[Sylvaforever]

Dryce said:

Adam Ansel said:

David Coulthard owns the production company that makes the C4 F1 programmes. Hence giving his mate Webber the work as pundit.
Suzie Wolff as the second pundit is a breath of fresh air and brings knowledge and incisiveness to the job. A very good choice, with her obvious intelligence she will grow into the role.
Steve Jones is a good choice as anchor.

I thought Steve Jones was improving in the qualy programme - but had regressed in the post race. I think right now he's the weakest anchor I've ever seen on F1 - and he needs to get himself sorted out.

DC, Webber, and Wolff were a good package. Came across better than the BBC setup last year.

DC has been good in the commentary over the last few years - but he comes across as very very sharp right now.

I felt for the guy [Jones] actually trying to be hip isn't paying off though, needs to gain peoples trust before he gets friendly esp with ze germans.

[LDM]

To be honest I found Steve Jones too annoying, I wanted to watch C4's coverage but after a short while he grated so much I gave in and switched to sky - was a bit disappointed with my self but with the current state of F1 I didn't need anything else to spoil it!

Maybe he will improve?

[Emeye]

Eric Mc said:

Swervin_Mervin said:

It doesn't tell you anything on the All4 app about the results, so not sure what the problem is.

And the BBC are/were the very worst at giving away results of sports before they show the highlights.

All I know is that yesterday I went to watch the qualifying on their website and there was a link which said, "Channel 4 Qualifying Bahrain - Hamilton Gets Pole".

So, the very thing most people DIDN'T want to know was revealed in the link that took you to what you wanted to see. That is just dopey.

BBC used to do this all the time until they got the hint - you could always get your wife/girlfriend/boyfriend/trainthedog to start it for you.

[deadslow]

Sylvaforever said:

Dryce said:

Adam Ansel said:

David Coulthard owns the production company that makes the C4 F1 programmes. Hence giving his mate Webber the work as pundit.
Suzie Wolff as the second pundit is a breath of fresh air and brings knowledge and incisiveness to the job. A very good choice, with her obvious intelligence she will grow into the role.
Steve Jones is a good choice as anchor.

I thought Steve Jones was improving in the qualy programme - but had regressed in the post race. I think right now he's the weakest anchor I've ever seen on F1 - and he needs to get himself sorted out.

DC, Webber, and Wolff were a good package. Came across better than the BBC setup last year.

DC has been good in the commentary over the last few years - but he comes across as very very sharp right now.

I felt for the guy [Jones] actually trying to be hip isn't paying off though, needs to gain peoples trust before he gets friendly esp with ze germans.

I think the C4 coverage has been great and I actually laughed out loud when DC/Mark started the grid walk. The Steve guy is finding his feet and I think he will be very funny once he gets going.

[Eric Mc]

Emeye said:

BBC used to do this all the time until they got the hint - you could always get your wife/girlfriend/boyfriend/trainthedog to start it for you.

I have a hamster in training. Well, it works for PH.

[funkyrobot]

Eric Mc said:

Swervin_Mervin said:

It doesn't tell you anything on the All4 app about the results, so not sure what the problem is.

And the BBC are/were the very worst at giving away results of sports before they show the highlights.

All I know is that yesterday I went to watch the qualifying on their website and there was a link which said, "Channel 4 Qualifying Bahrain - Hamilton Gets Pole".

So, the very thing most people DIDN'T want to know was revealed in the link that took you to what you wanted to see. That is just dopey.

Same thing happened to me the other week for Australian quali.

You are correct in saying the app doesn't show anything (Roku 3 and iPhone confirm this), but the main PC route via the site shows the headlines next to the videos. Crazy design.

[stichill99]

What a disaster F1 has become. I have just lost all interest as it has as much excitement as watching paint dry. The touring car races,Ginneta juniors,carerra cup and moto gp all outperformend F1 by a country mile!

[T16OLE]

I only watched the Bahrain Highlighs but I felt it was difficult to follow.

Perhaps like most I'm not the most welcome to change, but I didn't really rate Steve Jones and felt DC is the person holding it together.

I can feel my interest dwindling.

Fingers crossed the next few races are exciting

[RB Will]

stichill99 said:

What a disaster F1 has become. I have just lost all interest as it has as much excitement as watching paint dry. The touring car races,Ginneta juniors,carerra cup and moto gp all outperformend F1 by a country mile!

Thought it was a reasonable race with plenty of good overtaking.

The problem with comparing directly to tintop racing and bikes is with those series its exciting to watch because they are slower and closer and can get away with a bit of friendly (or sometimes not so) contact.

If F1 raced like touring cars you would have all but 3 cars out by the end of the first 2 laps then the remaining 3 cars being a boring procession.

Guess a problem is you dont really get a proper idea of how fast an F1 car is as they are all pretty comparable so it just looks a bit boring with a load of guys going round in a controlled manner. Maybe they need to go like WEC and have classes or mix them with Porsche Supercup or something so you can see just how fast they are.

[glazbagun]

Yeah I've never understood why track coverage is almost entirely built around tracking shots, we've all seen this, and I think it would add loads to any race if dropped in for a second every other lap:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K2cNqaPSHv0


Surely a static camera above the start/finish straight or a wide angle up Eau Rougeso could be used so you can actually get a sensation of how fast they are. Occasionally you get a camera hidden in the track like at the Wall of Champions or the one Alonso crashed through in Aus, but you rarely get to see anything from them.

[Eric Mc]

The F1 venues, with a few exception, are dull and cosmetic. They lend absolutely nothing to the "spectacle".

Lighting up a few sand dunes with coloured lights does nothing for me.

[durbster]

glazbagun said:

Yeah I've never understood why track coverage is almost entirely built around tracking shots, we've all seen this, and I think it would add loads to any race if dropped in for a second every other lap:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K2cNqaPSHv0


Surely a static camera above the start/finish straight or a wide angle up Eau Rougeso could be used so you can actually get a sensation of how fast they are. Occasionally you get a camera hidden in the track like at the Wall of Champions or the one Alonso crashed through in Aus, but you rarely get to see anything from them.

F1 has never tried to do anything innovative in its coverage. Remember how reluctant they were to broadcast in HD, even 500 years after other sports started doing so?

If you watch motorsport in Autralia or the US and it's years ahead and you often see them trying out new things to improve the coverage. As always, F1 fans get the absolute minimum from their sport.

Channel 4 are by far the most creative force in British Television these days but I fear they'll always be constrained by the FOM.

Don't mind Steve Jones. He seems prepared to work hard like Jake Humphrey did so I think he'll be OK.

Ben Edwards is probably the best commentator F1 has ever had for me.

[CABC]

durbster said:

F1 has never tried to do anything innovative in its coverage. Remember how reluctant they were to broadcast in HD, even 500 years after other sports started doing so?.

not sure of the whole story here, but Bernie had HD early though i suspect he was holding out for a higher price. I do know he had HD himself in his control room in the mid-nineties and was selling it it hard to broadcasters. I saw it myself and had someone explain the glorious future of multi-screen, headcams, subscriber camera selection etc. Clearly ahead of its time 20 yrs ago then but it was never taken up.

[Eric Mc]

Bernievision - which he tried to keep "in house" to maximise income.

The ethos of F1 is to try and extract the maximum income from whatever they offer. Sometimes this narrow vision means it progresses more slowly than other sports which often see the bigger picture.

[Europa1]

Slightly off topic, but as we're discussing FOM and the manner in which it controls/exploits its rights, does anyone know if Lewis Hamilton got bked for uploading video he took in the paddock to social media?

[speedking31]

Please put the car numbers on the cars where they can be seen from the in car shots. I don't know all the helmet colours to be able to differentiate between drivers. Please put the team names on the position tables, a stripe of colour where several of them are very similar is not sufficient for me. Even a couple of characters like the drivers abbreviations would be better.