Talking F1: Three Of Sky's New Faces

Natalie Pinkham, Anthony Davidson and Steve Rider discuss F1 and F1 broadcasting...

So what happens when Natalie Pinkham, Anthony Davidson and Steve Rider sit down for a chat about F1 and their new roles at Sky Sports? It turns into a very long chat about F1 and commentating, of course. All we had to do to get the ball rolling was to check with Ant that he didn't mind being called a 'former F1 driver'... Anthony Davidson: "Well I am a former Formula One driver! It's just so hard to get back into the sport nowadays that, for me, it's a closed book. I'm now focused on winning Le Mans. That's the next big thing for me." Natalie Pinkham: "But you're still the reserve driver for Mercedes, aren't you?" AD: "I was this year, yes, and I still do all their simulator-development work as well." NP: "So if anything happens to Schumi then you're back in! That's why we were trying to trip Schumi up in the pitlane! It would be amazing to see you back in." AD: "Don't get me wrong, I would love the opportunity to get back into F1. But I just know the ins and outs of the business and I've been out of it for too long. To be honest, I've moved my interests on." NP: "To commentating?" AD: "To commentating and to Le Mans as well. It's something I desperately want to win. It's one of the biggest races in the world and to have that on my CV... well, it's something I am very jealous of Martin Brundle for having." NP: "And because you are a new father, you're used to being awake at all hours!" AD: "Ha ha, yes, but having that long-term relationship with the Mercedes team and all the guys there also means that I am always up to speed with the technicalities of F1 and the politics of the technical side. What I'm looking forward to doing with Sky is branching out into post-race analysis. That's something that really interests me." Steve Rider: "Well, I haven't written off my chances of getting back in to F1 as a driver! I'll never say never no to that - although, because I won't be part of the live team at Sky, I'm happy to be called the 'Head Of The Things Were Much Better In My Day' team for now. "My job will be to talk to the old legends of the sport, making sure that the coverage on Sky is very much connected to what has gone on before in the sport. The great opportunity we all have at Sky is that we can tell the stories we want to tell to the extent that we want and to analyse to the extent that we want. A dedicated channel is no more than what the sport deserves." NP: "I'm really excited about next year. I've had this year working with Ant and Crofty and it's great that we are being kept together - along with Ted Kravitz, who did a number of practice sessions with us during the season - but now there's the cherry on top of working with my best friend of 20 years, Georgie Thompson. We were at school together and now we'll be working on F1 together. She's my bridesmaid as well!" AD: "Just for the record I am taller than her!" NP: "Are you?" AD: "I was sitting alongside her and I was definitely taller...." SR: "Are you going to be a bridesmaid as well?" NP: "You'd make such a cute little bridesmaid! But seriously, it's a really exciting time. It feels like the right move and the natural step from this year." AD: "And the team is still in place." NP: "It's quite amazing how quickly and how well you all get to know each other when you work together for 19 races." AD: "Which is a good thing and a bad thing sometimes." NP: "I must admit it was a steep learning curve this year because, no matter how big a Formula 1 fan you are and how many races you've been to, it feels very different when you're suddenly in the thick of it. For my first race in Australia, I did not know where to stand. I was convinced I was going to get in the way. I was constantly saying 'I'm sorry, I'm sorry!' then jumping out of the way. But by the end of the season you feel able to saunter up and down the pitlane. It's just amazing to feel that immersed in the sport. In fact, the access is quite incredible. In what other sport can you be on the grid just 15 minutes before the start and be able to wander up to the World Champion to ask what his thoughts are just before such a huge occasion? It's like no other in that respect." AD: "And now you'll be on the television as well..." NP: "Yeah, I suppose it means I'll have to do my hair and make-up a lot more which is a real shame - it was a right mess on the radio! SR: "That's been a real chore for me too down the years..." NP: "My background is telly and it was radio which was the change in direction. It was great to develop another side of broadcasting and I really enjoyed that experience, but it's on television where I feel most at home. And I just love being in F1." AD: "When did you start?" NP: "My earliest F1 memory was going to Silverstone with my dad in 1988, it poured with rain, but it was amazing. I had grown up in Northamptonshire and I was always nagging my dad to take me and eventually he did. Ayrton Senna won and Nigel Mansell was second. I don't remember a huge amount of it, just the noise and the smell and the rain..." AD: "88? Mine was Silverstone 1987, when I stood at Stowe when Nigel Mansell overtook Nelson Piquet for the lead of the race in the dying laps. I didn't actually see it because I was at the back of the crowd but it was incredible just to be there..." NP: "You should have got on to your dad's shoulders like I did." AD: "I don't think that would have made much of a difference!" SR: "That all makes me feel very old because I was in the studio presenting..." NP: "Were you?" SR: "Yes, but my favourite memory has to be from a couple of years later when the crowd came over the barriers for Nigel Mansell's win at Silverstone. Not only was I in the studio but I had been given the chore during the course of the day of babysitting two young guests who had been dumped in the commentary box. So I'm up there with Prince William and Prince Harry..." AD: "Aha! SR: "And I was trying to explain to them exactly what was going on in the closing stages of the race. That was a great memory, but I won't tell you what Prince William told me when all the crowd went over the barriers as that will get me locked up in the Tower!" AD: "Harry is a F1 fan so you must have done a good job. He even tried his hand at karting." NP: "And he was at Silverstone this year." SR: "My other great memory was Lewis Hamilton winning the title in Brazil a couple of years ago. Not just because of the manner with which he won the title but also because it was in the final few minutes of ITV coverage's of F1. That gave it an extra poignancy." NP: "Obviously I was delighted Lewis won, but the shot of Massa's dad when the realisation dawned that he had only been World Champion for not even a minute was very powerful. In fact, I was talking to Timo Glock about it this year at Brazil and he revealed to me that he needed a police escort out of the circuit afterwards. The crowd just went mental at him." AD: "But that's the kind of thing we are going to be able to analyse after races now. We will be able to fully explain what happened, explain that the reason why Glock was overtaken was because he was on slicks, and say: 'Look, he took a gamble and it paid off at first, but then it started to rain harder and he started losing ground ...'" NP: "And the layman just can't see that at home." AD: "Exactly. You can't see it as such because the spray isn't there, but once the slicks 'switch off', a driver just becomes a passenger - and that's how Lewis was able to scoot around the outside of Timo. "Even though it looked a bit suspect to the untrained eye, the team would have known exactly was happening. They had the GPS tracker, they could see it unfolding and they could see it with a great deal more insight than anyone watching on TV or commentating could have done at the time. The great thing now is that, because we will have so much more time to analyse and explain, that's the sort of thing that we will be able to convey to the viewers on Sky." NP: "Absolutely. A greater understanding makes it so much more entertaining. The last thing you want at the end of a race is people walking away with a furrowed brow wondering why on earth something happened." AD: "And even if, for some reason, we don't catch it at the time, we can talk about it after race the until the cows come home." NP: "Which is what these boys do when we're off air anyway. So you might as well just stick a microphone under your noses and let you talk away." SR: "But that really was an emotional bit of sport. The last corner of the last grand prix for the world championship..." NP: "It's amazing to me that with all that emotion they manage to stay so calm." AD: "It really hurt the fans though and you can't go to a more emotional race than Brazil - so much so that when Lewis retired this year the fans still cheered. It hurt them that much." NP: "This year, we arrived at the circuit on the Thursday to begin preparations and when we left on the Thursday night the fans were already queuing for the practice sessions on Friday. You just don't see that anywhere else. The Brazilian fans are crazy for F1." AD: "There are lots of different races that float your boat for so many different reasons. Brazil is definitely up there for the atmosphere. Silverstone is close to everyone's hearts in this country. Spa is lovely. It's in the Ardennes forest which is a beautiful part of the world if you like a lot of rain and trees. Another favourite has to be Monza. The atmosphere there is just amazing." NP: "It's just chaos!" AD: "It's an old, traditional race, and to see the Tifoso supporting Ferrari is an amazing sight to behold. And don't forget Singapore. Bernie now calls it the jewel in the F1 crown and it's really spectacular. To see F1 at night is something else." NP: "I have to say Singapore is my favourite - and not just because of all the reasons that Ant has just given. There's a strange feeling during the weekend there that you are part of a special gang because you all stay on European time, you wake up at two in the afternoon and then stay up all night. It feels like a real team effort and really special." AD: "You almost feel bad because you know you really shouldn't be doing it..." NP: "The most surreal moment for me was getting into a lift at four in the morning and finding Heikki Kovalainen doing his stretches before going to the gym. I said to him, 'Why on earth are you doing that at 4am?', and he was like, 'Oh, it's just a little work out'." AD: "It's very strange to be arriving at the circuit at two in the afternoon and saying "Morning!" NP: "And it's spectacular to see a night race too. It's very special." SR: "I think it's interesting that Singapore apart, the answer to the question of identifying a favourite venue still tends to gravitate to the traditional venues like Spa, like Monza, like Silverstone, and all the places that generate an atmosphere. "Singapore has done a pretty good job of that, but I would add Melbourne to the list for the passion and the enthusiasm that Australian fans have for F1 and all forms of motor racing. That really comes across when you're there for a GP weekend. Plus, it's quite an evocative venue as well." AD: "It's also often the first race and so it's the first chance that we get to see the cars and, as Europeans, to get over there and see the sun. There's a beach atmosphere, a happy atmosphere and a really nice race. Good choice." SR: "Hopefully, fingers crossed, Austin is still going to happen, because I think it's vital that we get that foothold back in North America as well." AD: "We do a lot of Sportcars racing in the US. The fans are brilliant, really understand their motor racing and F1 desperately needs to go back there." SR: "Most fans of F1 now are also fans of what has gone before. You can't separate the two and it's important you don't separate the two." NP: "Nothing can replace that history. Going back to so many of those old circuits gives you goosebumps." AD: "Past results make your current achievements relevant." NP: "And for the fans, that sense of history is so important. You just don't get that at the modern circuits, the purpose-built circuits." AD: "Monaco, for example, has pretty much stayed the same - it's only changed a tiny little bit - and I worked out that even in my Super Aguri days I lapped Monaco something crazy like eight or nine seconds quicker than Ayrton Senna ever achieved in his life just because the cars have developed to become so much faster. I love learning things like that." NP: "It gives you context, doesn't it? AD: "And I was looking up the other day that for the 1987 British Grand Prix something like 15 cars retired during the race. Fifteen!" NP: "It sounds awful but I quite like it when there's a retirement..." AD: "I can see the headline now: 'Pinkham. Loves A Good Crash'!" NP: "Ok, I mean nothing too dramatic, just something like a gearbox failure, but I quite like it because it gives me a little story to reflect upon." Related Articles:
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