91Èȱ¬

Excellent blog, cheers for uploading so many photos too.
Seems like Martin is following in Kimi Raikkonen's footsteps...

Good blog Jake
Whenever i try to recommend this blog to anyone, and try to explain what you write about and why it's so interesting, i can't think of anything, but still always look forward to reading them. The subjects you write about aren't always that thrilling but the way you write about them and the quality of your writing makes them interesting and enjoyable to read. keep up the good work mate

Hi Jake,
Thanks for your insight into race day. I really like the way you're fully aware of what a great job you have and how privileged you are to be doing it.
The bit about giving DC his rub down made me laugh.
Keep up the good work.

Hi Jake,
Absolutely loving the blogs, bringing a real other dimension into the footage, which I am following religiously! Send my thanks onto the entire team, a real top job.
Just a couple of questions though too...
Martin Brundle's alphabet of terms VT sections used in race build up, could they be available on the website? Being a student, early morning starts don't always go to plan, and I miss the main programme and only catch the re run which don't always have the little snipets in!
Also, is there an explanation for the two pink shirt dilemma we saw at Bahrain, fetching a colour though it is...
Thanks once again, roll on Spain!

Loving the blog Jake, very witty. The photos are a great addition.

This comment was removed because the moderators found it broke the house rules. Explain.

Great blog Jake. I'd just like to congratulate you and the team on the excellent coverage so far. I thought ITV's coverage would be hard to beat, but yourself DC and EJ seem to have bettered it......Well done.
Tell EJ I hope to see him at a Celtic game soon!!

All the Best and keep up the good work.

I think people need to realise that Jake's job is hard work and is not just about sitting around and having a chat for a few hours. Its a full on working day, he is under pressure to 'perform' and there is a lot of preparation before hand that is needed and I guess a lot of standing around waiting for things to happen as well.

Also the people behind the scenes don't just go out there for a jolly, they work bloody hard to put the whole production together.

This is good stuff Jake. Always good to see what goes on behind the scenes! Would be good to keep up some behind the scene related content where possible!

I'd like to take the opportunity to say well done on a great job so far! I feel we now have the best of what ITV had with the additional quality that I think the 91Èȱ¬ bring. For me the biggest pros are no adverts!!!, 91Èȱ¬ Sport site and coverage, DC and your good self... Oh and Martin Brundle as he is still the man!

Kind regards,
Michael.

... also just wanted to comment that the vibe is really strong from the team! You can tell that you guys get on well and it make the whole experience, from an audience perspective, all the more enjoyable. Keep it up guys!

Quick question......

I walways thought alcohol was banned in Bahrain, until that is I saw your bottles of Corona on the pic. So if it's not banned then why the absence of bubbly on the podium?

Loving the pink shirt wars!! Please keep it going.
Great photos on the blog, it's really good to see what goes on behind the cameras, thanks.

Hi Jake

Thanks for sharing the 'behind the scenes' insight into Grand Prix weekends - its a refreshing new angle...

What id like to hear more though is your opinion and take on the actual atmosphere at Bahrain. Although we witnessed decent racing, i couldnt help but notice that the place was more empty than 'An evening with Alain Prost' at the Sao Paulo town hall....lol

I understand that Bernie will do just about anything for those corporate dollars (as was apparant when he donned that ridiculous Butlins red coat) but it kind of infuriates me to think that Grand Prix like Canada, USA, San Marino and even Donnigton - where the stands are jammed full of real motor racing fans, fall by the wayside as they are deemed 'commercially unattractive'

Let us just pray that the golden arches don't replace Santander as a chief sponser - or we may see Bernie bouncing up and down the grid dressed as Ronald Macdonlad !!!!!!!

Brilliant blog. It's great to see what really goes on behind the scenes. The pic "massage" pic with DC should go be made into a caption competition though.

Any chance of a larger one of Brundle with the ice-cream for his Facebook fan page?

You're doing a great job and to include the behind the scenes blog is a fantastic idea.

When you first started, I thought that you were a bit too young for the role (ok, I wanted to Murray Walker). But I am impressed how you have handled the tricky Eddie Jordan. He seems to want to stir the conversation with the motive of his personal gain taking away attention from the actual commentary.

Take Eddie Jordan off and replace him with a fan from the grandstands. It would be more relevant!

Jake, great blog...we were fortunate to be in Bahrain this weekend and were amused at you running around the paddock taking pictures of anything that moved, even your own production team! We thought you might have turned into some mad tourist but now seeing the photo blog it all makes sense. My one question is Why didn't you use the picture that DC took of your sweat patches in your blog!!! They were obviously something to be proud of in that heat and he took a keen interest in them!!! I can certainly vouch for the fact that you guys were out there working hard in that extreme heat, even when not on the air so well done to you and the team..

Cool Blog Jake,

Great photos from Bahrain, hope to see more from future races. Liking the "rub-down" pic, it made me laugh. Also from the photos it looks like the Whole Team is enjoying themselves.

Keep Up Brilliant Work and Roll On Spain!

Hey thanks for the pics! Always fun to see folks normally behind the camera and the Martin ice-cream binge wasn't something I foresaw.

Congrates to Sunil on his choices of music that end the coverage, the first four have been perfect!

I was a massive fan of the ITV coverage and I thought the 91Èȱ¬ would struggle to match it, especially without the outstanding Steve Rider... but to be honest I actually prefer the 91Èȱ¬ coverage now. I had doubts over Jake taking over the F1 covergae BUT I have to applaud your start to fronting F1. Yourself, DC and Eddie Jordan seem a lot more relevant than the Mark Blundell monopoly that was at ITV!

Still getting used to Jonathan Legard on the commentary... he sort of knows his stuff but James Allen was an F1 geek and was on the same wavelength as Martin... hopefully their commentary partnership will develop as the season goes on.

Just one question... how many other TV crews broadcast from the pit lane like the 91Èȱ¬ and ITV used too? I think it really adds excitement to the coverage but wondered if it would get cluttered with 15+ TV crews all broadcasting from the same bit of the circuit. Keep up the good work!!

Great blog, nice to see the fun and obviously all the work in the background, keep it up. Love F1 on the 91Èȱ¬ and this season has given so much already and will keep giving.

PS i want to work in F1

Jake and all the crew and the F1 stars (MB DC EJ) a heartfelt thanks for the best ever Formula 1 coverage. As an old boy I remember 91Èȱ¬'s coverage with Murray so you have excelled-Congratulations to all, and let's hope the season continues to bring surprises for us all.

Great Blog and great coverage guys

Seen DC and Martin at Bahrain airport at 135 am.

I was very tired. Bahrain GP was amazing tho but very very hot

I'd like to repeat the question posed by #11, it seems a strange contradiction.

The layout's a little busy for my tastes but none the less you do a good blog, good work and look forward to the next one.

Jake, great blog but does Davids missus know what you two get up to at the GPs?

Another great blog Jake...your behind-the-scenes insights are fantastic, although I don't believe for a second that the DC massage was a set-up!

One thing I really like about your blogs is the fact that you mention so many members of the production team - it's nice that the people on the other side of the camera are acknowledged for all their hard work.

The only thing I want to know is this...

...is Lee McKenzie married? And do I stand any chance whatsoever?

What a woman. Bugger the racing, I could spend 2 hours just looking at that face.

:D

Nice Blog Jake and keep pis coming

Jake your blog is going very well!

You are covering some of those F1 corners we don't even think about let alone want.

Keep bringing a smile to my ugly face :)

Now I believe that you aren't allowed to drink alcohol in Bahrain; hence the rose water or whatever it is they spray on the podium. So why is the team drinking Corona in the last picture.... :-/

hi.Jake
i have checked your blog lots of times in the past few days.haha
it's really worth waiting with so many cool pictures and scenes behind your report.
It seems that ice cream is popular in paddock now :)
btw. u look great in pink .can't wait the Spanish GP
thanks for all the members in the whole team, representing a marvelous report to us.

best wishes
mandy

pass on my congrats to Sunil. Contrary to what some people have said about the end of show music in some of your blogs, i think its always well chosen. Brilliant coverage so far. Do you need a runner or anything to join the team. My cv's in the post!!

I was really sad to see Eddie Jordan back.

I thought Mike Gasgoyne was far more relevant than EJ who really does grate. Jordan has opinions just like us fans, but they rarely stack up and his sycophantic interviewing is cringeworthy.

Its a crying shame because everything else about the programme has been absolutely superb.

Hey Jake , Still loving your work , All of you , One thing tho , you look as if you could do with another camera op , When doing the red button seg at the end ? , if you do please let me know ! ( no really its my job , been doing Tv for years ) . do call ! .
Cheers .

Where is Ted?

His pit-lane insight really makes the world of a difference during the race and his '5 minute wonders' before the race really bring me up to speed with whats happening.

So where is Ted?

Great Blog Jake, Sounds like your all having lots of fun, please keep up the great work on the Race weekends, what do you all think of the ruling on McLaren the other day. even as a Ferrari fan, im glad that they only got the ruling suspended,

Jake, I make Great Popcorn so if you need me for the weekend to help the VT team please just let me know

best of luck for Spain
Robert
Dublin Ireland

Great blog once again Jake!!

Hi Jake!
Great Blog with pictures! You provided massage with DC, haha! I think you could be a physio of drivers, hehe! Cheers and good luck!

Great blog Jake - and I too love the 'Pink Shirt Wars'!

I think this is going to be one of the best seasons I've seen in a long time - the usual front runners not there - mid-field teams at the front. Finally, you can actually say no one knows what's going to happen - except for the fact that we know we're going to have an interesting weekend. Roll on Spain!

[x] nice to see the 'behind the scenes' pictures

[ ] comments section is a job application form for F1 camera crews

This comment was removed because the moderators found it broke the house rules. Explain.

I'll admit that at the start of the season I had my doubts over whether such a 'new' team could do a reasonably good job at handling the F1 coverage. I now am happy to admit my fears were unfounded. All of the team are first class, and special plaudits to you Jake. Malaysia must have been a nightmare to present, but you managed a faultless job through 53 minutes of non-action after the race was stopped: informed, concise and entertaining throughout. (and, as my wife will attest, this praise from an 'armchair expert shouter' of 40 years standing). One thing I'd like to see Martin doing a feature on: The driver-adjustable wings is the biggest rule change on aerodynamics since 1969; it would be interesting to know how, why and when the drivers make use of this.

I agree with weemac2000 on the adjustable wing feature

Also, a fun feature i would like to see is Martin (with his depth of knowledge) pick what he thinks are the best sections or corners from tracks around the world (current and old) to design one 'super' circuit.

Be great to see what it would look like - and they could get the graphics team to display what a lap would be like. Probably be better than any Hermann Tilke concept

Also - still would like to see the presentation team run a fantasy f1 league based on there predictions...

Any jobs going at the the 91Èȱ¬...lol

Jake, you and DC in that "massage" shot is just wrong! Look at the expressions on your faces... liking it wayyyyy too much! ;)


DH

Great insight. Pink shirts are obviously catching on!

Loving the more free flowing programme. ITV was a bit too scripted sometimes.

Work-life balance should be a bit more normalised for the next couple of months ;-)

another entertaining blog Jake!

fascinating to see what goes on behind closed door, seems you guys have some good banter-which is always important!

This comment was removed because the moderators found it broke the house rules. Explain.

Jake writes (re: trio of Baftas): "...well done to them and all involved in last season."

Nice touch.

Great blog again Jake, nice to see the people behind the camera getting a mention too and thanks for showing us just how hectic a race weekend is. Special mention must go to Sunil for picking out some of the best songs to put to the end of race montage. Another great week of coverage from the team and you dealt with the unbearable heat very well!

Hi Jake,

Excellent blog, keep up the good work, im absolutely loving the coverage this season, I look forward to it just as much as the racing :)

nice photos jake, not so sure about the pink shirt though! Im sure when you bought it they told you it was 'salmon pink' but on TV its just plain .. pink! not your most flattering colour.

Good to see you keeping your 'liquids' intake up after the race .. hard work but someones gotta do it.

In answer to #11, I am led to beleive you cannot spray champagne as alcohol in public is banned. You may, however, consume alcohol in a licensed premises, such as a hotel or restaurant, as long as you don't get drunk. I'm not 100% sure, but I have been told this by a friend who has visited Bahrain.

Nice one Jake. I really enjoy your presenting. You are just the sort of character needed, as you ask the right questions of the technical guys. You, DC and Mike Gascoigne would be an A+ presenting team.

Keep up the good work :-D.

For the next race could you please find out the percentage rise in pink shirt sales since the F1 team have started wearing them. I for one have bought my first pink shirt, don't think I will ever wear it out, but will put it on for each race lol.

I am gald that it is now now on the bbc I love you all it is nice to see it from every angle but the only down side is no loo break and I always press the red button after the race bring on the next race cant wait

Jake,

Great blog, great shows on Saturday and Sunday!

It's great that the tide of criticism aimed (unfairly in my opinion) at EJ and JL is beginning to subside! Surely proof that as a team you are heading in the right direction.

I can also report that you now must be synonymous with pink shirts. I wore one on Monday and several people at work suggested that I look and/or dress like you. Could be worse, I could be getting compared to Martin Brundle.

Just one suggestion I'd like to make: Get Ted Kravitz to use his Twitter page! Lee uses her page to great effect, but Ted's is completely blank.

Great coverage from the 91Èȱ¬ as I expected, would love some more classic races shown on the red button though!

Keep up the great work!

Great insight, im really enjoying all of this in depth F1 coverage pre and post race.

Keep up the good work!

Hey, Jake, Your doing a terrific job with the formula one coverage, its an absolute revelation. Will you be walking out on to the grid again to meet up with Martin again? I thought that was one of the best ideas so far. And how about getting Ted more involved in at least the end of the post race forum. He could provide great insights into what happened in the pitlane during incidents. Keep up the great work!

Great stuff Jake...

Your coverage is fantastic this season.. a

Lovin' the blog here too!

J

Brilliant blog, tbh this is one of the things you have really done well, the behind the scenes stuff is really good.

By the way can you improve accesing videos on the site so you can click a "see all" button, and by the way jonathon has improved his comentating ... well a bit.

Great blog and great coverage.

The one thing I would like to know is how the teams move all this stuff from one race to another. Especially when its from one side of the world to another.

I hope that wasn't Kimi's last ice cream..

I have to say I loved the Ferrari clip on race day - the one about their woes. The music was cool and it was well put together. Keep up the good work.

Great blogs Jake, as everyone else has said. Just wanted to add my appreciation of Sunil's choice of music - the old Cast album got a dusting off and listened to again after the show. Great stuff.

quality blog Jake, seems a great place to work, wish i could experience some thing that good all over the world, really good insight into a great weekend

Hi Jake

I'm totally new to this F1 malarky - the clue is in the name ;) - but I'm really enjoying all the blogs and the columns, everyone's enthusiasm is shining through, and it's great to see behind the scenes, and also to get up to speed (pun intended) on everything that is going on, things are easy to follow without being patronising.

By the way, what is the deal with pink shirts, I think I must have missed something!

Along with thesniper89, forresnats, another appreciative nod to Sunil for his end credits music choices !
He is inspired, always fitting, but avoids the obvious, well done.

The pink shirts, I think I have the answer, the beeb must buy them really cheap, Huw Edwards was wearing one in his reports today from Basra.
Must keep an eye on others sporting them.

Keep EJ working alongside DC, they crack us up on a Sunday !

I have to admit that I was a bit sceptical about you presenting the F1 coverage Jake, but I've really enjoyed it so far - there's a lot more joking around and friendly banter than there would ever have been on ITV and the blog's brilliant, it makes the coverage all the more fun. The only downside is that DC and EJ's bickering can get on my nerves after a while...

You really will have to make sure there's no repeat of the pink shirt fiasco though, that was just uncalled for ;)

i just feel that i need to say how truly brilliant this years F1 coverage is,now it has finally returned home to the 91Èȱ¬.

Jake your input to the show and your attention to detail is a real credit to yourself and a huge bonus to your employer.

And the way that you keep both DC and EJ in control always makes me smile :)

Keep up the excellent work!!!

Jake, you Still need to go up a size on your cloths matey, take a cue from DC, Ohh yes and a darn good blog too, jobs a good-un

Hi there Jake

I was getting worried there that you were not going to do a Blog, this time around. But it was worth waiting for, loved all the pic's.
I am enjoying your coverage more and more, and the red button after the race, well just brilliant.

Thank all your team and keep up the good work.

Hi Jake,

Is 91Èȱ¬ showing the GP2 series? I got rather hooked on it last year, so definitely want to watch it again if I can.

Cheers

Brilliant blog mate..your best by far! the shows keep getting better and better.

keep up the great work buddy


connors-75

Hey Jake,

Have been waiting for your latest blog, and like others have said - it was worth the wait! Thanks very much for posting the photos - really great to see what life at the track is like for you on race day:)

That photo of your production meeting - love the way that pink shirt is looming in the background, lol! I think the 91Èȱ¬ should issue you all regulation pink shirts, just so all the other members of the team are not missing out!

Lol @ yours and DC's post race shenanigans, and Martin's attempt to recreate Raikkonen's Malaysian ice cream moment!! Big congrats to Sunil on the choice of music for the end of race montages, they have been inspired so far

Looking forward to Barcelona now - wonder which teams will make the most progress there? I'm sure they'll all be welcoming you with open arms once they hear about your lucky charm status:)

Naomi

Hey Jake, Im getting a vibe that you are still kind of jealous of ITV and North One winning BAFTA's, but good to see that the Beeb did dip into that Bafta winning team.
Of course , the 91Èȱ¬ will win a BAFTA, but ditch Eddie first and you will.
Also I like many like this pictures, gives you a full indepth...still you make me jealous...I so want your job!
Plus whats with the pink shirts, seriously?
Maybe you and DC should take a leaf out of Steve Rider and Martin Brundle from years gone by with a 91Èȱ¬ Sport polo shirt, more smarter.
Picture comments : You and DC together so wrong...DC has a lovely woman to do that, also tell Martin...he looks like he is putting on weight!
Also a few people are missing from these pictures...Johnathan Legard, Ted Kravitz, surely they werent doing anything else!

Good read, first time I have seen this - makes you feel a little sympathy towards you for what must be one of best jobs in the world...

Jake, there's every chance the edit on the Sport 91Èȱ¬page of that photo with DC is going to end up in the next issue of Viz..............

Hi Jake,im new to the blog ( but been watching/ following F1 for 20 years) and i am just lovin the way you tell us ,in your own words and pics, how the whole GP weekend goes from your perspective.The 91Èȱ¬ coverage ,IMHO, is excellent and with the red button stuff and forum avaliability it feels like that its not just the race you tune into see on Sundays, but from the moment 1st free practice goes live on the red button the race weekend starts for me. DC is just brilliant and along with Martin gives is excellent insights into a very technical sport. Keep up the excellent work mate.

Carl

Nice blog Jake,

I'm a 12 year lover of F1, been watching since the exit of Nigel Mansal and the introduction of Hill. I see some changes I like in the sport, some I don't like but I guess it is all for the good.

I would like to see the FIA governed by public opinion, when a team is fined millions for spying, that tells me they are too powerful. Bring the sport back to the people who watch it, and kick Berny out for being so arrogant.

Wayne.

Hi,Jack!
I'am Nono.Susan told me the link of ur blog.So good here.
In the pic above, It's so fuuny to see u in the reflection of Roger's monitor !!But is that u?
And I cannot stop thinking about the facial expression of Sunnil when he was standing in front of a broken popcorn machine.£20 and a dry bag of half-popped corn!!So interesting!
Here actually I know more about ur work,of course,the F1 from ur perspective,Well done,Jack. Keep going!
I am looking forward to more pic!

Congratulations Jake on getting the job of a life-time and making a decent go of it. I must admit that I wasn't that impressed by you at Melbourn you seemed a bit stiff and unsure of yourself, however as the races have gone on you have relaxed more and the banter between you DC and Eddie is far more natural. Keep up the good work!

If only you could get Jonathan Legard to relax and enjoy his job more, it would make listening to the race coverage far better. Also tell him to cut out the annoying sillyness of his time filling.

Great blog Jake!

As a second year student doing a Hons degree in Media Production and Technology whilst also being a huge fan of F1 it's fantastic to gain an insight on to how things go on down your end. It's a dream for me to work in the Production crew for F1 and hearing what you do just makes me want it more.

Keep it up and look forward to hearing more of your adventures.

Cheers.

Jake - I think the feedback on your blog demonstrates that viewers have a keen interest in what goes on behind the scenes - any chance that we could have a weekly profile of different members of the team - it would be great to know about all of the different elements that go in to delivering such great coverage. Even if some of the team didn't want to be 'public', some detail on what their role entails would be great.

Keep up the good work.

Hi Jake,

Just wanted to say what a great blog this week, as all of them are. The pictures are fantastic, it really nice to able to look inside what you do, not just in front of the camera but behind and off it as well. Although i think Martin should lay off them ice-creams abit. lol!

I just wanted ask you a question regarding the length of time you are away from home, as you mentiond you had been the best part of 5 weeks away. How is that to cope with with you and your wife, mate etc. Also wanted your comments on what you think about DC always seeming to be eyeing you up and down whenever you ask him a question, or is that just something i've noticed?! lol!

Great blog, great show and great presenting.

Thank you so much for these blog posts, they really do add another dimension to some most excellent coverage. I think you're doing a fantastic job with DC and EJ (I'm on the love-him side of the fence) - I'm not skipping most of the pre/post-race stuff like I often did with ITV. Heck, you've even got me watching for longer on the red button!

I'm not entirely convinced by Jonathan's commentary yet - I often get the impression he's not keeping an eye the monitor and when we see something happening he's rambling on about something totally irrelevant. Hopefully he'll get better with time.

Props to 5Live for their coverage of the practice sessions too - listening to F1 in the office doesn't half help pass the time, and they do a great job.

Keep up the good work :)

Hi Jake

Great blog, and love the coverage, I've skimmed most of the comments and no one seems to how mentioned this. I was wondering if you could get some of the radio team in on the Red Button stuff. Would love to see you, Martin, DC and David Croft discussing the race, and/or bring in Ant Davidson. Didn't spot any of them in the pictures. Do you guys all hang out together or is it "them and us"? Seen as you all work for the 91Èȱ¬ and are at the races, may as well make use of each other.

great blog.
role on Barcelona I say.
:)

Jake please start a poll weather Eddie Irvine should be in your broadcast.
he is a complete douchebag, and I can just see DC dusting his chin off pretty soon. the guy is always wrong, is always starting crap and is just a mouthpiece for Bernie eccelstone, how on earth did he even get on the team?

Once again excellent coverage last weekend. The red button forum is by far the best innovation to the 91Èȱ¬'s coverage and for the F1 enthusiast, it is a must see.

This particular edition of your blog has given us a great insight behind the scenes of the 91Èȱ¬ coverage. Great job. It's 3 - 3 in the pink shirt league now between you and DC, however 2 blokes wearing Pink Shirts together is questionable.

I still think Eddie Jordan is good asset to the team. I also think that Jonathon Legard is not as bad as some people are suggesting, but as people have said - he should remember that he not on radio anymore and the pictures can tell a lot of the story. Especially at the end of qualifying in the pole position rush.

Hey Jake,

You will never guess what! I was returning from popham having set up at the airshow, we pulled into chievely services for a cuppa, when as we pulled into a space there he was.... the big man.... Mr Ross Brawn!! I was gob smacked, hopped out of the car quicker than LH avoiding a stewards enquiry, presented myself by his Audi and introduced myself by calling him Mr Brawn!!
I tell you, I know a few famous and have met a few famous, but my legs were jelly, and i stumbled a congrats out and smiled cheesily, and made an exit stage left! Nice hand shake!

Blew me away for some reason,couldnt believe it - still cant!

What a great guy though, throughly chuffed for him, his team, and F1 in general. I have never been so excited! Bring on Barca and the fastest team in testing..... Brawn GP!!

I actually thought that JL had his best weekend. He linked with MB a lot better and it didnt seem like they were fighting for the mic! I haave been critical of JL but thought that Bahrain was his best so far. Well done!

Hey Jake
I am a massive F1 fan and I am really enjoying the coverage on the 91Èȱ¬. Yourself, David, Martin and Jonathan are interesting and informative. I do however have one complaint! I find it very hard to watch Mr Jordan! Although I appreciate he is a very talented man and is very knowlegdable about F1, I find his comments annoying and tend to switch off when he is talking. Keep up the good work, you and David are awesome

The pink shirt thing is becoming a classic!! Funny to see it hanging there ominously in the prod meeting... what colour will it be next? Now you've started co-ordinating with DC, you can't just let it go...

Looking forward to España??? :-)