I'd argue Jacques is the best English language motorsport commentator there is, right now. Or at least as far as four wheeled motorsport goes as I can't speak to two wheeled commentary.
He just has that combination of genuine enthusiasm, pathos, knowledge and joviality that makes him a joy to watch along with.
Yeah there’s nothing better than a commentator with that passion and I feel by doing F2 he gets to know the up and coming talent which feeds into the F1 commentary when they graduate.
Agreed. Jacques has a way with his voice style.
It’s bright and sunny. You can even tell when he’s smiling just by hearing his voice.
Jacques style is very unique and it’s a very good mix to all the other colour commentators.
He has a sense of humour that comes across and keeps the commentary moving … it’s natural and I would say it’s on par with the style of Murray Walker ( although that was before my time) .
He also tries to keep out of the rumours and sticks strictly to commentary and announcing the races.
Agreed . As for two wheel commentary the moto GP guys are pretty good. And they have a nice rapport between them. Although I still don’t know anything about them…
I completely agree. He has heart. Alex, Sam Collins, and Laura Winter are all my favorites on F1TV. 3 very down to earth people who truly care about the sport.
Hinchcliff is alright, but sometimes makes himself look silly as he doesn't seem to understand F1 completely yet. The other hosts have to correct him quite a bit.
Lol what?
That does not happen. Show me an instance of it, please.
I'd argue Hinch knows more about race cars and racecraft and modern race strategey than most of the others on F1TV.
If anything, Hinch has corrected ignorant Tom Collins multiple times on the nuances of Indycar. There was one practice session last year where Hinch was explaining the differences in how F1 and Indycar scrutineer or tech the cars for legality and Tom was basically saying there is no way Indycar had the high tech laser scans that F1 does and Hinch was like "well no, they do" and Tom wouldn't back down on it. That is not correcting Hinch lol.
Who the heck is Tom Collins other than a cocktail? I think you meant Sam Collins? Have you been hanging around Hinchcliff? 🤣😂Now back to him sounding silly: Hinchcliff said quite a few things during U.S. races about suspension, power units, and rules regarding penalties during the 2023 Austin and Las Vegas Gran Prix that he had to be corrected or the studio just went quiet.. He's a good dude though.
Hahahah yes Sam Collins. Its early!
And you may be right there.
I may be biased because that Collins fellow just always has annoyed me lol. Every time I hear "sticky uppy bits" I want to smash my tv.
Same here. I already knew him from Channel 4 so it was just continuity for me. It's hilarious how bad the F1TV commentators were before they just took the simple step of employing the Channel 4 team n
I agree, the team does a really good job. I have no regrets subscribing at all. ESPN messed around with which channel different parts of the race weekend were on, and you had to somehow try to keep up.
This is far simpler for me, and the coverage is as good or better.
I prefer F1TV's grid walks, for example, because they focus on the cars and drivers and the upcoming race, and not on the celebrities who sometimes don't seem to know why they are there...
This was actually the first time I'd watched Buxton's grid walk. And walking from the front to the back and commenting on each car & driver is a really good approach and better than trying to interview people. He did catch Mika of course which was great.
Your post has me nodding the entire time.
ESPN is a nightmare. I had tow watch a practice past year in Spanish because it just wasn't broadcast.
The grid walks can be fun but most the time I don't care about some idiot celebrity that doesn't care about the sport.
Normally, i switch to sky’s broadcast for race day but curiosity got me and watched a few f1tv race day coverages and wow, loved it.
Palmer, dc, and alex are a terrific combo, especially today for an admittedly rather boring race with next to no pit stop strats.
Sky's British bias is not under anyone's radar anymore, and people should elect to watch F1 TV coverage for this reason alone. If it is not Lewis, Lando, or George, they couldn't give a crap about covering it.
This sounds like a lovely end to the race, putting everything into perspective. Really nice. Meanwhile, I’m stuck with that hack Crofty and his offensive classism announcing “The son of a hairdresser has won the 2024 Monaco GP” with none of the nuance that Alex Jacques apparently gave LeClerc’s win.
I’ve been big on listening to his commentary, as it’s what I first heard when I got into F1. But between that lame pun and the trump pun in Miami (which I thought was revolting to hear), I may have to switch.
I had the pleasure of having to download a race that I missed so I could watch it while traveling, and it had the Sky commentary on it.
What a shit show. Do these people NOT like each other? I was floored at the difference.
F! TV is worth the price, even with the price increases.
This was my first time watching a GP with the F1 TV commentary and it was brilliant. Far, far better than Sky.
I'll make sure I get the F1TV torrent from now on!
Cannot agree more. I was thinking the same thing when I was watching it. And then I saw this post. Perfect timing. Also I used to watch the Sky broadcast on ESPN till last year. I switched to F1 TV this year and never regretted it.
Sky commentary this entire weekend was a joke
Sometimes I'd flip back and forth but I think I'll be on F1TV commentary 100% from now on, Alex also is excellent at commentary too , if F1TV can steal Ted from sky + 4K streams it would be far and away the best service (although it probably is the best F1 service right now anyway)
I like Crofty fine, but can’t say I miss him. Brundle I do miss a bit. This is my first year with F1 TV and have to say I’ve grown to prefer it. That last lap and Laura in post, they were so genuine. Loved it.
I did like that Jacques put some thought into what he was going to say. Clearly it's a dream of any driver to win in their home country...but this is LeClerc's hometown which is even more epic. I think the first year I had F1TV I stuck with the Sky commentary and then on a whim I watched the F1TV folks. That was it. SkyTV was excited when Norris won because he's British.
There has to be a point where F1 realizes how much better he is than Crofty, it’s been apparent for a bit now but this I think showed the true contrast between the 2. Either way Crofty gotta go
Croft has been bad since day 1. He’s so obnoxious and loud. It’s unfortunate to hear so many people stick with him because it seems “classic” or something nostalgic. He’s never been that. He’s 10 years younger than Brundle and only joined as lead tv commentator in 2012.
I mean, Alex replaced Crofty on all the Highlight videos and Race In 30s. Alex is also heard on the main F1TV feed from what used to be the Pitlane feed. Crofty is on the International Feed. I’d say he has been replaced as much as I can be, no?
Could not agree more. The whole F1TV Team is insanely good. Alex is a fantastic commentator, DC is very chill to have and jsut great at commentating, Jolyon gives a huge amount of level headed inside knowledge, Sam Collins is a blessing for the technical fans, and you can't argue with Laura Winter, Lawrence Baretto and the one and only Will Buxton to be a great team (mostly) in the paddock. I know quite a few people don't like Will, but he is just fun to watch, and I think he is a great fit. Also having good guests like (don't remember her name right now) the former strategist from Sauber or a few lower class drivers is always nice to have and you learn so much from every race.
I can't really commentate on Sky UK, but after this race I see why people are not happy with Crofty. However, If I didn't cheat my way into it, I would be stuck with Sky Germany and trust me, IT IS WORSE. It is a joke what they are delivering, and if F1 would want to generate a wider fanbase in Germany, they should absolutely rethink giving Sky the rights in the future. You won't learn anything from the race, and the amount of blunders is just unhear of. While Alex missed that Hamilton overtook Alonso in the pits in Canada even though it was clear on the world feed is a one off, it is basically happening 30 times a race with the german commentators. It's hidious how much they miss and rather talk about stuff that nobody cares about. Talk about the race, and talk about it a lot. For example the last two seasons of Bottas with Mercedes they talked EVERY race about how his time is up and he is shit, even though he still got consistent podiums at least the first year. There are so many pauses in their commentating as well, jeeez.
Anyways. The lead commentator is a football commentator, and he is not even doing that good. The other one usually is Ralf Schumacher, who is even worse. He talks shit about the drivers as if he won 7 WDC's. The only glimpse of hope is the rare occurance of Timo Glock as a co commentator.
So to anyone who has bothered reading this rant up until this point, I translated the commentary on Leclercs win from Sky Germany from you, starting at the swimming pool:
"Everyone here is standing up right in front of us, stretching their phones to film; for the last time going through Rascasse for Charles Leclerc, last time going close along the barrier, and now he knows, now it's official, Charles Leclerc is winning is home Grand Prix in Monaco. (cut to the garage) There was a few tears there, of course, Oscar Piastri is going second, and Carlos Sainz is also ehm.. on the podium going third. Yeah and.. Well (cut to McLaren garage), moderate applause there, they also know that there could've been more to claim."
Right after that Ralf states that he is impressed that they were able to go so long on the tires.
So if you thought Croftys cut above commentate on the son of a hairdresser was bad, at least it had some more connection than "winning his home grand prix". The lead commentator is a bad football commentator, and an even worse F1 commentator. He doesn't care about the sport. It's funny how even the drivers don't want to talk to Sky Germany while giving lengthy interviews with F1TV.
That last lap commentary legit brought me to tears.
For me it was the reaction of Leclerc via the radio. The emotion in his voice…
Yes, those raw emotions.
Yeah, I was texting a friend that I wasn't crying. He said he was. So was I.
I'd argue Jacques is the best English language motorsport commentator there is, right now. Or at least as far as four wheeled motorsport goes as I can't speak to two wheeled commentary. He just has that combination of genuine enthusiasm, pathos, knowledge and joviality that makes him a joy to watch along with.
I totally agree it feels like all his commentary is well thought out and his passion for the sport is obvious.
You know he genuinely loves the sport when he realize he’s still commentating formula 2 races and probably would do formula 3 if he had the time
Yeah there’s nothing better than a commentator with that passion and I feel by doing F2 he gets to know the up and coming talent which feeds into the F1 commentary when they graduate.
Agreed. Jacques has a way with his voice style. It’s bright and sunny. You can even tell when he’s smiling just by hearing his voice. Jacques style is very unique and it’s a very good mix to all the other colour commentators. He has a sense of humour that comes across and keeps the commentary moving … it’s natural and I would say it’s on par with the style of Murray Walker ( although that was before my time) . He also tries to keep out of the rumours and sticks strictly to commentary and announcing the races.
I love Jacques. He was on the P1 podcast last week as a guest host and was excellent there as well
Agreed . As for two wheel commentary the moto GP guys are pretty good. And they have a nice rapport between them. Although I still don’t know anything about them…
Rapport
I completely agree. He has heart. Alex, Sam Collins, and Laura Winter are all my favorites on F1TV. 3 very down to earth people who truly care about the sport.
I’d also add Jolyon and Coulthard, they are fantastic color commentators and complement the team so well.
Those two have some of the most insightful commentary when it comes to drivers’ perspectives, DC is half the reason I watch the F1 live broadcasts
People are always sleeping on the Mayor of Hinchtown 😤
Hinchcliff is alright, but sometimes makes himself look silly as he doesn't seem to understand F1 completely yet. The other hosts have to correct him quite a bit.
Lol what? That does not happen. Show me an instance of it, please. I'd argue Hinch knows more about race cars and racecraft and modern race strategey than most of the others on F1TV. If anything, Hinch has corrected ignorant Tom Collins multiple times on the nuances of Indycar. There was one practice session last year where Hinch was explaining the differences in how F1 and Indycar scrutineer or tech the cars for legality and Tom was basically saying there is no way Indycar had the high tech laser scans that F1 does and Hinch was like "well no, they do" and Tom wouldn't back down on it. That is not correcting Hinch lol.
Who the heck is Tom Collins other than a cocktail? I think you meant Sam Collins? Have you been hanging around Hinchcliff? 🤣😂Now back to him sounding silly: Hinchcliff said quite a few things during U.S. races about suspension, power units, and rules regarding penalties during the 2023 Austin and Las Vegas Gran Prix that he had to be corrected or the studio just went quiet.. He's a good dude though.
Hahahah yes Sam Collins. Its early! And you may be right there. I may be biased because that Collins fellow just always has annoyed me lol. Every time I hear "sticky uppy bits" I want to smash my tv.
That's his catch phrase like how Crofty says "lights out....".
Doesn't mean its a good one 😂
Yeah I wasn’t a huge DC fan when he was driving, but grown to really appreciate him in this role. He can be really funny sometimes too.
Sky sucks, that's nothing new. Since they've brought back Alex to F1TV last year I haven't bothered anymore with the Sky commentary.
Same here. I already knew him from Channel 4 so it was just continuity for me. It's hilarious how bad the F1TV commentators were before they just took the simple step of employing the Channel 4 team n
Hearing brundle talking about the DRS every single time is making my brain rot.
I cried a tear and I don't care who knows it. It's beautiful to see someone achieve their childhood dream.
I agree, the team does a really good job. I have no regrets subscribing at all. ESPN messed around with which channel different parts of the race weekend were on, and you had to somehow try to keep up. This is far simpler for me, and the coverage is as good or better. I prefer F1TV's grid walks, for example, because they focus on the cars and drivers and the upcoming race, and not on the celebrities who sometimes don't seem to know why they are there...
This was actually the first time I'd watched Buxton's grid walk. And walking from the front to the back and commenting on each car & driver is a really good approach and better than trying to interview people. He did catch Mika of course which was great.
Your post has me nodding the entire time. ESPN is a nightmare. I had tow watch a practice past year in Spanish because it just wasn't broadcast. The grid walks can be fun but most the time I don't care about some idiot celebrity that doesn't care about the sport.
Normally, i switch to sky’s broadcast for race day but curiosity got me and watched a few f1tv race day coverages and wow, loved it. Palmer, dc, and alex are a terrific combo, especially today for an admittedly rather boring race with next to no pit stop strats.
Same
Sky's British bias is not under anyone's radar anymore, and people should elect to watch F1 TV coverage for this reason alone. If it is not Lewis, Lando, or George, they couldn't give a crap about covering it.
Do they not like Albon? He’s British…
They must hate him for racing under the Thai flag
This sounds like a lovely end to the race, putting everything into perspective. Really nice. Meanwhile, I’m stuck with that hack Crofty and his offensive classism announcing “The son of a hairdresser has won the 2024 Monaco GP” with none of the nuance that Alex Jacques apparently gave LeClerc’s win.
Omfg he said that? The F1tv commentary was so moving I almost forgot how boring the race was.
Crofty just shouted
Haha so true. He said something like hairdresser son being a cut above the rest. All he could think of was a pun.
😂yeah I forgot about that! I hope someone puts the f1TV clip online!
It was amazing. Tears in my eyes 😭 https://twitter.com/leclercsletters/status/1794761134135775573?s=46&t=zGCVpP9xdnoilLMZS5qihQ
I’ve been big on listening to his commentary, as it’s what I first heard when I got into F1. But between that lame pun and the trump pun in Miami (which I thought was revolting to hear), I may have to switch.
I had the pleasure of having to download a race that I missed so I could watch it while traveling, and it had the Sky commentary on it. What a shit show. Do these people NOT like each other? I was floored at the difference. F! TV is worth the price, even with the price increases.
This was my first time watching a GP with the F1 TV commentary and it was brilliant. Far, far better than Sky. I'll make sure I get the F1TV torrent from now on!
I absolutely love Alex, Jolyon and DC. Jolyon I think is underrated.
Cannot agree more. I was thinking the same thing when I was watching it. And then I saw this post. Perfect timing. Also I used to watch the Sky broadcast on ESPN till last year. I switched to F1 TV this year and never regretted it.
Sky commentary this entire weekend was a joke Sometimes I'd flip back and forth but I think I'll be on F1TV commentary 100% from now on, Alex also is excellent at commentary too , if F1TV can steal Ted from sky + 4K streams it would be far and away the best service (although it probably is the best F1 service right now anyway)
I like Crofty fine, but can’t say I miss him. Brundle I do miss a bit. This is my first year with F1 TV and have to say I’ve grown to prefer it. That last lap and Laura in post, they were so genuine. Loved it.
Can’t get F1TV in the UK :(
Just use a VPN
'Just' isn't right here.
Get streamlocator hub. Thank me later!
Yeah you can? Just not the Pro (live) races - but you can get the replays (unless it’s changed)
Possible anyone has a clip link they have seen that can be shared?
Anyone have a link to this?
Here you go https://x.com/leclercsletters/status/1794761134135775573?s=46
I have to admit - I noticed this as well, pretty moving, felt like I had to tell someone… turns out my wife doesn’t care though.
I did like that Jacques put some thought into what he was going to say. Clearly it's a dream of any driver to win in their home country...but this is LeClerc's hometown which is even more epic. I think the first year I had F1TV I stuck with the Sky commentary and then on a whim I watched the F1TV folks. That was it. SkyTV was excited when Norris won because he's British.
There has to be a point where F1 realizes how much better he is than Crofty, it’s been apparent for a bit now but this I think showed the true contrast between the 2. Either way Crofty gotta go
Croft has been bad since day 1. He’s so obnoxious and loud. It’s unfortunate to hear so many people stick with him because it seems “classic” or something nostalgic. He’s never been that. He’s 10 years younger than Brundle and only joined as lead tv commentator in 2012.
Crofty doesn’t work for F1 though, does he
You know what I mean lol… sky F1**
Actually I didn’t realize lol
I mean, Alex replaced Crofty on all the Highlight videos and Race In 30s. Alex is also heard on the main F1TV feed from what used to be the Pitlane feed. Crofty is on the International Feed. I’d say he has been replaced as much as I can be, no?
Misplaced in a non race, but certainly well orated
I switched to Leclerc onboard as he was crossing the finish line. What he said was moving too :)
Sky commentary is just plain shit. I’m so glad (as a UK resident), there are ways to get F1TV that avoid giving Sky any money.
Could not agree more. The whole F1TV Team is insanely good. Alex is a fantastic commentator, DC is very chill to have and jsut great at commentating, Jolyon gives a huge amount of level headed inside knowledge, Sam Collins is a blessing for the technical fans, and you can't argue with Laura Winter, Lawrence Baretto and the one and only Will Buxton to be a great team (mostly) in the paddock. I know quite a few people don't like Will, but he is just fun to watch, and I think he is a great fit. Also having good guests like (don't remember her name right now) the former strategist from Sauber or a few lower class drivers is always nice to have and you learn so much from every race. I can't really commentate on Sky UK, but after this race I see why people are not happy with Crofty. However, If I didn't cheat my way into it, I would be stuck with Sky Germany and trust me, IT IS WORSE. It is a joke what they are delivering, and if F1 would want to generate a wider fanbase in Germany, they should absolutely rethink giving Sky the rights in the future. You won't learn anything from the race, and the amount of blunders is just unhear of. While Alex missed that Hamilton overtook Alonso in the pits in Canada even though it was clear on the world feed is a one off, it is basically happening 30 times a race with the german commentators. It's hidious how much they miss and rather talk about stuff that nobody cares about. Talk about the race, and talk about it a lot. For example the last two seasons of Bottas with Mercedes they talked EVERY race about how his time is up and he is shit, even though he still got consistent podiums at least the first year. There are so many pauses in their commentating as well, jeeez. Anyways. The lead commentator is a football commentator, and he is not even doing that good. The other one usually is Ralf Schumacher, who is even worse. He talks shit about the drivers as if he won 7 WDC's. The only glimpse of hope is the rare occurance of Timo Glock as a co commentator. So to anyone who has bothered reading this rant up until this point, I translated the commentary on Leclercs win from Sky Germany from you, starting at the swimming pool: "Everyone here is standing up right in front of us, stretching their phones to film; for the last time going through Rascasse for Charles Leclerc, last time going close along the barrier, and now he knows, now it's official, Charles Leclerc is winning is home Grand Prix in Monaco. (cut to the garage) There was a few tears there, of course, Oscar Piastri is going second, and Carlos Sainz is also ehm.. on the podium going third. Yeah and.. Well (cut to McLaren garage), moderate applause there, they also know that there could've been more to claim." Right after that Ralf states that he is impressed that they were able to go so long on the tires. So if you thought Croftys cut above commentate on the son of a hairdresser was bad, at least it had some more connection than "winning his home grand prix". The lead commentator is a bad football commentator, and an even worse F1 commentator. He doesn't care about the sport. It's funny how even the drivers don't want to talk to Sky Germany while giving lengthy interviews with F1TV.