h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

(Rash statement, being as we're trying to get things lively in here again!)


There I was, defending F1 to this bloke in the hotel bar the other day after Magny Cours. He said he doesn't usually watch, but he knew I did (because I'm generally reading Autosport or the like at dinner) so he watched the French GP, and wasn't it really boring watching Alonso go round and round?

"But", I said, "there was a french car, with french tyres in the lead in the french GP, of course the french producer was going to be showing a lot of it".
"And anyway", I said, "didn't Allen and - particularly - Brundle manage to keep us on the edge of our seats when Kimi was whacking in the quick laps and coming in for his first stop and back out, even though we were watching the back of a Renault going round 2 seconds a lap slower".
"So don't fear", I said, "the British coverage is always _way_ better than most of the others countries, even though there might be a tad of Button-mania before it all gets going".

So, how embarrased was I to watch the rediculously poor ITV coverage of Silverstone one week later. For the first 10 laps it seemed the producer didn't know what to look at. We were getting a couple of seconds of this, a couple of seconds of that, then a couple of seconds of the other. We weren't watching any particular car, or any particular bit of track. It was as if someone in the outside broadcast caravan had said "bugger, the race has started, quick, show some pictures of it". I started trying to concentrate so hard that I couldn't even remember who was on pole. It was like watching edited highlights of the last 2 seasons, played backwards.

I was really looking forward to seeing some in-car footage of - well, anyone - pegging it through Maggotts/Becketts. (Incidentally, isn't the load on tyre sidewalls through there much greater than turn 13 at Indy - but I digress.)

So, I thought the British GP coverage was rubbish this year. Two questions then:

1. Does anyone agree/disagree?
2. How was it for you guys who actually went? (Surely someone did?)

I didn't actually watch I listened on Five Live, the commentators are really good

I also listened on BBC 5 Live with live timings from www.formula1.com on the computer.
Would have liked to see JPM's overtaking move on the opening lap though.
Random Mood.

>>Would have liked to see JPM's overtaking move<<

Yeah, so would I! ITV had a camera pointing in roughly the right direction, but all we got was a distant view of a silver speck somewhere near a blue speck on a bit of track somewhere in one of the first corners.

That bad! Eh?

not quite that bad, but pretty awful

Being a bit less rash, and with mode ='OFF', the first half a dozen laps were poor, and the rest of the race was dis-jointed. Maybe it was just one of those races that are like that.

For Silverstone qualifying, I was _there_, in the car, particularly with Jenson, Fernando and Kimi. For the race, I was sitting in my front room watching pictures on a screen.

Maybe I should try listening on 5 Live like Reefgirl and Random? Do you folks listen out of choice, or are you not near a tv on Sunday afternoons?

If I'm not able to see it live I watch the repeat on tuesday... and anyone who tells me the result suffers pain on a hitherto unkown scale... Not that I have ever hit anyone for trying to tell me the result when they knew I didn't want to know till I watched it

No TV at home out of choice.
But there are some things I miss, F1 is one of them!
Random Mood.

Me and Excelsior were doing a lot of running around in the car last sunday so we had no choice, I don't usually listen to Five Live, my dad used to watch the cricket with the sound down and the radio commentary on, apparently a lot of people do that with F1 too

The commentary does make hell of a difference. I was at silverstone at the Abbey chicade for what was rather a dull race bar the Montoya moved at the start, but the track commentators made it sound like a bike race (get the jibe in) - I think it's the same on five live, might be worth a go (mute telly, radio on...)