No Monaco?

Monaco =

+5

It's extraordinary that it should be possible for a group of petrolheads to describe driving state of the art racing cars at insane speeds along narrow streets where one mistake could easily mean catastrophe as a yawnfest. Yet it's true.
I think the problem is that for it to be possible to happen at all, it has to be proven to be safe, which - given the level of skill of the drivers and the design and reliability of the cars - it is.
The in-car footage is still stunning, but as a sporting spectacle, with no overtaking, few mistakes and no breakdowns, it is almost guaranteed to be a non-event.

Presumably it is the amount of business that gets done in Monaco over race weekend and the images that are used to sell F1 to countries with no motor-racing heritage that ensure its continuation.

Oh... reminds me of when we went to Monaco in 2009. We got a nice view on Loew's corner and I said to Joke "you know what would be nice? To get something classic, sporty, exotic to pass by now. Something you see maybe once in a year." Next thing, what do you know...

And I have to pay an even bigger ransom to Sky if I want to watch it (which I increasingly don't anymore :yawn: ) which is a shame because I had been so looking forward to F1 in HD on BBC.

Wouldn't be so bad if paying the expensive Sky TV subs offered completely advert free viewing.. but it doesn't If anything Sky TV encourages more adverts and lower quality ones at that!

How long before each corner name changes to reflect the new advertisers Sky will bring to the table... The Ocean Finance British GP featuring safestyle bend, Vanish straight and the JML complex

I think i'm right in saying that Sky have committed to at least the races being advert free....

Red Bull and Ferrari quit FOTA

I suspect this will see out of season testing resume, thank goodness, along with several other changes.....

What is most shocking is the revelation that RK reads the gossip pages on AOL. What were you thinking, Derek? I though I knew you, man!

Sky Sports raid BBC for Formula One coverage

The job of guiding Formula One fans through next season’s world championship on Sky Sports has been handed to a man with a voice which is as familiar to followers of darts as it is motor racing.

David Croft has won the coveted role as chief commentator for the new Sky Sports coverage with Martin Brundle leaving the BBC to return to his old role as pundit and analyst.

Sky Sports have confirmed their line-up, which revealed a raid on the BBC talent coffers. As well as Brundle, Ted Kravitz joins Sky from his role in the pitlane for the BBC, along with Natalie Pinkham, who leaves BBC Radio Five Live to join the satellite channel. Kravitz will also present a new magazine show on Sky’s dedicated Formula One channel with Georgie Thompson, currently a Sky Sports presenter.

Simon Lazenby, already a regular on Sky Sports, particularly on the channel’s rugby presentations, will be the host with Jake Humphrey remaining at the BBC. Steve Rider, who hosted Formula One for ITV, returns to conduct major interviews, including pieces with former drivers and team owners.

Sky has won the rights to broadcast all 20 races live next season, although no one is certain yet which races they will be as the FIA World Motorsport Council meets in Delhi on Wednesday to consider the 2012 calendar.

There is speculation that the US Grand Prix scheduled for Austin in Texas might yet have been saved for its date in October, but the FIA still has to decide whether it is safe to sanction the go-ahead for the Bahrain Grand Prix after a bomb exploded outside the British Embassy in the capital of Manama last week.

The responsibility of guiding F1 viewers will fall to Croft, who has been commentating on BBC Five Live, but his is also a familiar voice at the microphone for the BDO World Darts Championships. Commentating for the BBC since 2006, Croft has one thing in common with one of the key figures in Formula One, Lewis Hamilton. They both come from the Stevenage area of Hertfordshire.

It is not yet known who will move into Croft’s seat at Five Live but David Coulthard, Eddie Jordan and Lee McKenzie will all stay with the television team committed to covering ten grands prix live next season with ten, 90-minute highlights packages.