The Race F1 Podcast
The secrets of F1 race commentary - and the unique challenge of calling a race in 2026
So a similar thing in that when it turns into pass and repass and you're still getting used to the nature of it and where that might happen, we had a really...
The Race F1 Podcast
The secrets of F1 race commentary - and the unique challenge of calling a race in 2026
We had a really funny moment in China where Julian Palmer, one of my co-commentators, turned to me and went, you didn't think that move was done, did you?
The Race F1 Podcast
The secrets of F1 race commentary - and the unique challenge of calling a race in 2026
And we're all still trying to work out when the moves actually are done.
The Race F1 Podcast
The secrets of F1 race commentary - and the unique challenge of calling a race in 2026
As you point out, there's a rise and fall, there's a cadence to it.
The Race F1 Podcast
The secrets of F1 race commentary - and the unique challenge of calling a race in 2026
Like you'd get with a goal in football, that the audience is used to, that is the sort of bedrock of commentary, which is you build to the big moment.
The Race F1 Podcast
The secrets of F1 race commentary - and the unique challenge of calling a race in 2026
You're never putting that on, but equally, that's the style that,
The Race F1 Podcast
The secrets of F1 race commentary - and the unique challenge of calling a race in 2026
that's what you're used to doing.
The Race F1 Podcast
The secrets of F1 race commentary - and the unique challenge of calling a race in 2026
That's your muscle memory as a broadcaster.
The Race F1 Podcast
The secrets of F1 race commentary - and the unique challenge of calling a race in 2026
So suddenly in the same way that, you know, when you'd hang up the phone, everyone's got the muscle memory of how they hang up the phone.
The Race F1 Podcast
The secrets of F1 race commentary - and the unique challenge of calling a race in 2026
So suddenly when you don't know when the move is ending, that is an incredible, you're calculating in a way that you'd never normally be thinking.
The Race F1 Podcast
The secrets of F1 race commentary - and the unique challenge of calling a race in 2026
You'd be like Hamilton, Charles Leclerc, right?
The Race F1 Podcast
The secrets of F1 race commentary - and the unique challenge of calling a race in 2026
The overtaking opportunities are here, here and here.
The Race F1 Podcast
The secrets of F1 race commentary - and the unique challenge of calling a race in 2026
Okay.
The Race F1 Podcast
The secrets of F1 race commentary - and the unique challenge of calling a race in 2026
We're getting into the S's at seven and eight.
The Race F1 Podcast
The secrets of F1 race commentary - and the unique challenge of calling a race in 2026
This is the last opportunity, except it's not anymore.
The Race F1 Podcast
The secrets of F1 race commentary - and the unique challenge of calling a race in 2026
And you're finding yourself having to, again, go back to the first lap thing, having to leave a little bit of headroom just in case there's an unexpected repass.
The Race F1 Podcast
The secrets of F1 race commentary - and the unique challenge of calling a race in 2026
Well, the thing with motorsport is you get used to things very, very quickly, especially Formula One reinventing itself the entire time.
The Race F1 Podcast
The secrets of F1 race commentary - and the unique challenge of calling a race in 2026
So this is a little bit in the DNA that there's always something new, that you're always trying to explain it.
The Race F1 Podcast
The secrets of F1 race commentary - and the unique challenge of calling a race in 2026
You know, every single time I do a qualifying session, I try to rattle through the basics of what's happening because we are getting new audience.
The Race F1 Podcast
The secrets of F1 race commentary - and the unique challenge of calling a race in 2026
But you're trying to almost smuggle it in without the diehards noticing that I've just recapped the same qualifying format that we've had for years now.