Farewell to a brilliant season - and roll on 2010
Well, that was the 2009 Formula 1 season and I'd like to say it was a pleasure to share it with you all.
I actually felt pretty emotional at the end of the show on Sunday. After disappearing from 91Èȱ¬ One we were joined by the great and good of F1 on our Forum, including Jenson Button, Mark Webber and Rubens Barrichello live. It was a fantastic way to sign off.
Eddie Jordan then grabbed David Coulthard and me for a quick hug and it was genuinely hard to believe we got through 34 shows and so many hours of live TV together. It was a special moment!
Despite all that's happened between the start of the year and our paddock 'man hug' it seems like only yesterday that I went out for dinner with my predecessor Steve Rider and we both wondered how the sport could ever match the heights it reached in 2008. And then 2009 happened...
. The got his first taste of F1 in a struggling car while his fellow finally fulfilled his promise. All that against the backdrop of , the , , , , , and . Phew!
All of that has conspired to make the past seven months the fastest, most exciting and most rewarding of my life. I vividly remember sitting around with the production team before the start of the year. We were in a big boardroom at Television Centre in west London with EJ, DC, Martin Brundle and various others in attendance. Which only added to the embarrassment when I arrived 20 minutes late having been stuck in traffic..!
Anyway, once I'd arrived to much ribbing, and the odd death-stare from the boss, the meeting turned to how we could put our own stamp on the coverage after ITV's fantastic efforts for the previous 12 years. We all took the responsibility of taking over the coverage very seriously and were keen to let no-one down.
I remember we had stacks of ideas, from the red button Forum to the online offerings such as this very blog - but all of it would have been futile had the sport not conspired to amaze, frustrate and enthrall in equal measure weekend after weekend.
So, with this in mind I've decided my final blog of the F1 season would be the Jake Humphrey Alternative Awards for 2009, a chance to re-live some of the moments from my perspective as we've criss-crossed the globe following this amazing sport.
Welcome to my blog where I will be sharing all the insider news, uploading videos and photos throughout the 2012 F1 season. I've spent the past 10 years at the 91Èȱ¬ working for Children's 91Èȱ¬, hosting Olympic games, World Cups and Sports Personality of the Year. Have a read and please feel free to share your thoughts.