The Inside Track

We've unearthed a mole to give us a few clues about what's going on in Sky Sports F1 HD's secret lair.

Well done on the Sky Sports F1 website - nice work, nice look. Just a shame you had to stick that infernal ticking clock on the homepage - yes, it might be a clever gizmo but it would have been nice not to be reminded all the time about how little time is left before we have to put everything together! Anyway, happy to report that we are still flat-out busy down here, although a fly on the wall in our office would be a lonely thing because we're spending so much of our time either on location filming or putting it all together. This week we've completed some of the graphics that will blow your mind when you see them. And did I mention that we're in Barcelona too next week? No? Well, we've arranged with all the teams to film some walk-to-camera profile shoots of the drivers for our pre-race intros. We hit a bit of a hitch with that plan on Tuesday when HRT pulled out of the test but it shouldn't be a problem to sort out. In the meantime, we've had Ted, Georgie and Ant in the studio for the last couple of days to go through the touchscreen gadgets we've brought in for them to use for analysis. Touch wood, but it's worked a treat so far. And the Crofty-Brundle commentary partnership has already been tested: we locked them in a booth together at the start of the month and used a re-run of last year's Australian GP to remove some of their winter cobwebs. They sounded great together, and a very natural combination. It's a pity you couldn't have had a listen-in and heard them in Dolby 5:1. Trust me, they sounded fantastic. A GP hasn't been broadcast in the UK in Dolby 5:1 before but, once you've heard it, you'll never want to hear a GP without it. So, yes, everything is slowly coming together - even if that wretched clock is ticking the days down a bit too quickly. The only real glitch we've had is the snow in Italy cancelling a shoot we had planned with Martin Brundle at Ferrari. I really can't tell you too much about that one but it should be pretty special and we're still hopeful it will be in the bag before our launch. It can't keep snowing in Italy for two months, can it? And the great thing is that all the teams are proving a great help. We've had a fantastic response from all twelve - they've been very accessible, very helpful and full of some great ideas themselves. We're still getting to know them of course, but all our first dates have gone well so far! Right, someone has just pointed out that we have 14 live shows to put on air before the end of March so I'd best get back to work. We've plenty to do - and I've just had the idea that we could set up a twitter account which might come in handy for revealing a few behind-the-scenes clips. I'll do that now - and put a note in my diary to send you another note in a couple of weeks' time to keep you informed about how we are getting on.... Best wishes and speak soon, [Name removed at editor's discretion]