Sergio Perez - classic F1

I guess we can't expect too much from a young, whipper-snapper. I must be getting old...Belgium 98, Brazil 01, Brazil 07, Brazil 08, Abu Dhabi 10 all seem like yesterday to me. Yawn.

Don't bother with this next year - more cost cutting!

Only half of the classic GPs seem to be viewable on the BBC website. Do I have to view the other half on the Sky Sports website?

Some good GPs in there though from Sergio, even if some are repetition. I don't agree with him on Abu Dhabi though - wasn't exactly a thriller race wise. But Sergio's the man with the choices not me. Shame also there was no Mexican GPs in his selection - but the boy would be too young I guess to have seen any live.

Some good choices - 2007 was a great season.
Any chance of letting us know how long the Freeview loop actually is? Recording 3 hours is just overkill

I look forward to the conversation being very one sided and vociferous about that which we cannot discuss...

Andrew, as well as embedding it, can you also provide a link to the 1998 highlights? The embedded player is smaller than the player on the separate links.

Also, I used the search facility at the top of the page to search for "sergio perez's classic" expecting that all 5 results would appear, as well as this blog. Alas, none of those pages appear in your search results.

I'd find the developer responsible for writing this search function and question its usefulness!

spa'98 - lollerboots!

Next year??? No, its goodbye from me and goodbye from him. Sky and murky Murdoch can get stuffed !!

Radio Five Live can call the shots for me while I do my garden, thank you.

Hamilton in his rookie year, in my opinion, lost the championship in China, where he got stuck in the gravel. All he needed from there were two or three points, and the title could've been his despite Kimi's fast finishing efforts in Brazil.

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

@G no, THE Alternative was the £48m bid from Channel4 that according to Bernie was an acceptable bid, but his "hands were tied" by the BBC.

G - what planet are you living on? Are you Barbara Slater in disguise? Anyone with even the slightest knowledge about this disastrous decision by the BBC knows that they should have pulled out completely and left the door open for Ch4's (very well advanced) bid. Bernie would never had persuaded the teams or their sponsors to put up with 100% coverage on Sky and therefore Ch4 (or the BBC at a vastly reduced fee) would have been able to keep hold of all of the rights.

This was a decision taken by the BBC in their own interests in order to prevent another FTA channel stealing the coverage from under their noses at the end of the 2012 contract. The end result is the worst possible one for fans and as far as I am concerned paying for half of the Formula 1 races is a complete waste of licence fee payers money.

Love it when people try to make out that the deal with sky had to go ahead or we would have had no F1.

G you are obviously not very well informed.

There WERE terrestrial broadcasters available and willing to bid for the 100% rights.

The BBC wouldnt let them in.

At least please have an idea of what your speaking about before you go all Team BBC on us.

G @9

The fact that you only watch half races is hardly relevant.

Also your making exactly the same false representation of the situation as the BBC, namely that it was this deal or nothing. Channel 4 were prepared to bid to show all the races live on FTA thats what people are angry about.

If any other buisness decided to censor complaints that may or may not be accpetable, but for a publicy funded body like the BBC to do it is again whats making people angry.

I'm sorry that you've had enough of the debate but as someone once said........tough!

If you had a flagship sport coverage, that you could either give up entirely to a direct competitor, or retain over 50% coverage of (mix of 50% live and 50% highlights), would you still be bleating on about it being unfair?

YES, I think they acted in their best interests, as any commercial entity or individual would in such situations.

IF they had backed out completely, and it had gone to Channel 4 instead of SKY, all these moaning-minnies would be banging on about "the return of ad breaks in F1... nice one BBC.... you sold me out"

Just be bloody greatfull that you can still watch half of them on the BBC.

In fact, just be greatfull you have the opportunity to watch it at all

G

DONT, for a second, think that I am not very well informed.... I klnow just as much about this saga as anyone else of you out there in "webworld"....

lets face it. do any of you have dtranscripts of the discussiona nd negotiations, either between BE and SKY, BE and the BBC, BE and C4, or even the cleaning lady at FOM offices?

No!

Speculation and gossip that perpetrates itself throughout the internet

G

I for one agree with G. - he may have his facts no spot on, but the constant moaning of you people about the decision is more annoying than anything else.

If you want to watch the whole season and it bothers you that much, put your hand in your pocket and get SKY. It's actually quite good!

G oh dear! It would be infinitely preferable to have FTA access to ALL F 1 races than the situation next year. Why should we be grateful to the BBC? The BBC made their decision out of spite and it certainly isn't in the best interests of the licence payer.

Is that Janner or Spanner?

No sorry, I wont be grateful about being kicked in the backside and then being told to enjoy it.

And no, nobody would have moaned about ad breaks if people had known it was either that or just half the grand prix.

I will go on record now, as I have done many times as saying I would rather have an entire season with ad breaks than what we're left with.

So sorry, for me at least your ill thought out opinions dont apply to me as a viewer and a fan of the sport, and I have a feeling they wont for many here so enjoy ploughing that lonely furrow. I'm sure the attention you will recieve will be worth it.

nice censorship of G's post there.....

Do parts 6 - 10 continue on Sky ?

Gotta love the "I'm alright jack pull the ladder up" brigade.

G, I agree in that some people do love to complain, but frankly this is an issue worth complaining about. I know there isn't much money left in the world etc. etc. etc. and I doubt the F1 was cut to make room for the Olympics, what annoys me & so many others is that we are now going to have to put up with Sky's inevitable move in a few years where they will absorb all of F1 & it won't be on free to air ever!

This cuts out so many sectors of society who don't/won't own a sky box because they, like me feel that £300 a year for access to 600 channels, of which you won't watch 580 of, is a bit much!

Students, pensioners, young individual home buyers/renters will all be missing out on F1 now and feel obliged to join Sky/Virgin Media in order to watch 240 hours of sport over a year...

it's ridiculous & there will still be adverts shoved down your throat between the start of the programme & the race start as well as before the podium...that means we'll miss the post race team radio, many build up features/interviews & so much more that the BBC currently offers us.

Sky will do what they have with the Premier League this year...ruin it with poor graphic analysis as if it were the NFL & also the commentators will likely now be poor on one of the channels, you'll either get Brundle/Coulthard on Sky & a lame commentator on BBC or the other way round. Anthony Davidson can't do full time & whilst Crofty is good, he doesn't have that same pull as Brundle does like Murray did before him, he'll be like James Allen - intelligent, well known, but ultimately not as popular.

Never said I was "plowing a lonely furrow", or that "I'm alright, Jack"...... rather that the situation is what it is, so either get over over it, or get SKY

G

@ G

No to either option. Lump it.

If you can't afford it, work harder!

Oh right, so protest is no longer allowed? We should just sit down and take whatever anyone throws at us should we?

Have you looked around the world and seen what protests have done within the past few years?

Janner with that kind of arrogance you and Bernie would get on well.

A few good ones there to enjoy, got to enjoy a bit of Spa 1998 just for the pile up. Not a bad way to break the 3 weeks of F1 abstinence.

Or.....

Have a look around the world and see just how lucky you REALLY are

Perspective!

G

Or, how about you stop telling me what to do, and I'll just continue to voice my opinion however I want, yhea? Cool.

Here's a question G. If you really don't care either way about the deal and think protest is pointless. Why are you continuing to reply?

If you want to complain and reverse the BBC's disgraceful decision regarding the F1 rights I think you are well within right to, I am. As I would only describe myself as a casual F1 fan who has become interested in recent years I think its appalling that the BBC moved to block off other free to air competition, ignoring the fact that they are NOT providing the est service to the licence fee payer. And they keep trying to hide behind FOM allowing this deal to go ahead, and that is true, but it was the BBC who had to instigate it.

If you want to talk about any action that can be done, for example e-mailing the teams now they are back from their breaks asking pressure to be applied or continue complaining to the BBC then I suggest ignoring people like G. Either they are simply trolling or they are in a vast minority. Either way getting into a long protracted argument is not of that much help, I think effort should be focused on making the BBC Sky and FOM how big of a mistake they have made. I will be emailing the teams again this week and then enjoying the rest of this season, when it is on Sky I shall barely follow it, and hope it returns to Free to air in the future, but until then I am not going to just put up with it, my voice may only be a whisper, but even a whisper is heard.

Somehow I knew this blog would be hijacked with arguments over the BBC/Sky deal. Give it a break and take it somewhere else, this is for comments on Sergio's Classic F1 choices.

Mighty Might Town - You sound like any interesting fellow...

I think this deal will continue as planned, i think you will just have to put up with it, and i think you whisper will be heard and then laughed at.

Anyone who is against the BBC loosing half the races from next year sign this petition!

If the petition recieves more than 100,000 signatures, MPs may discuss the matter in the house of commons!

https://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/57

@G you're a bit foolish, the kind of guy that would get a pay cut and brag about it as if it was the best thing that could happen.

Well said Mighty Might Town.

The announcement was well timed in the hope that the voices would die down during the break, but as the BBC,FOM & FOTA will no doubt see this weekend across all its media, that isn't the case.

Will everyone please SHUT UP!!!!!!
I don't like it like no one does but nothing will change the situation we are stuck with. It's not a government/dictator we are dealing with, it's the BBC. If they say they can't afford F1 who are we to argue? No matter what anyone says it won't change.
And to be honest it'll give me an excuse to watch a few races down the pub on a Sunday!!

@40.....

If it kept me in a job, and my family fed, then yes, I would

Why do people think they have the right to tell people to shut up? Its a public forum, if you don't like it you don't have to read it and certainly don't have to comment.

Your username is quite laughable under the circumstances.

I thought 2008 brazil was an exciting race, but not abu dhabi 2010 that was pretty dissapointing.

brazil 2001! miss having a personality like montoya's around.

As for the sky deal, yeah i hate it, big step backwards, should have gone to another fta broadcaster, not happy about the way the bbc have done the deal. Doesnt need to be on the bbc, they have done it in their own interest when they are supposed to be acting in the interest of the license payer.

@ Janner

Your are probably right, I don't normally get pseudo philosophical but it seemed oddly apt for what I am feeling. Either way I feel the need to have my say, if it is heard laughed and ignored so be it, at least I have satisfied myself.

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

"People too weak to follow their dreams, will always find a way to discourage yours"
Jake Humphrey last week. Seems rather apt with trolls like Janner lurking.

Where are the genuine commentators/presenters with integrity, who are not afraid to say what they really think about the BBC reneging on their contract with Formula 1?
Let’s have some proper debate between the fans and the BBC blog initiators.
Prove to the fans you are listening and care about the concerns they have.
Is this too much to ask? Show the public you are an organisation that can be trusted once more!
RESPOND to the comments!

As an F1 fan I am disappointed and angry that F1 has been sold to SKY down the road and could be the start of Murdoch getting his hands on F1 which is something Bernie has been against because of the free to air rights for viewers but then again Bernie said " He can happily retire and not worry about the consequences" given he will be near his 90 when the deal comes around again in 2018

The teams may reject the idea but they've always wanted more money from TV deals and Bernie never gave in...I see SKY creating a greater divide between the big teams and small teams just like they did with Premier League bottle to A) Get the teams behind them B) Weaken the power of the authorities

Money talks am afraid

@G and the neigh Sayers. If you're happy with the BBC deal, then good for you, I have no objection to your opinion.

Here's my opinion. The Concorde Agreement exists for the good of the sport, the fans and the sponsors. It states that in countries with a large market F1 should remain on free to air TV. The BBC has created a loophole in this by approaching Sky directly and offering them the F1 rights.

As a result we will not get a full live season of F1 on the BBC. Sky is not an option for me as I live in a conservation area, so I can't put a dish up.

The BBC maintains that this was the best possible deal, despite it involving them giving £15m to Sky.

The fact is that the best deal would have been for BBC to see the contract through to the end, or relinquish F1 rights altogether.

If they dropped the rights then the Concorde Agreement would have ensured it stayed free to air. Bernie has come out and said that C4 would of got it, but his hands were tied by the BBC.

Logic concludes therefore, that the BBC sided with Sky to block another FTA channel getting the coverage, and the public getting 100% live races.

Now, couple this with 3 weeks of silence from the BBC despite over 10,000 comments against this deal and 6,000 official complaints (although the BBC won't release the actual figures under the FOI act, another story), and remind yourself that we are the license fee payers. This is a public broadcasting company funded by, and answerable to, the public.

In my honest opinion there is a very good case for people to be annoyed and want to voice their anger on here. There is also an overwhelming case for the BBC to stand up and give us detailed answers.

G - I'm completely with you on this one. Makes me sad how people who claim they're "finished with F1" seem to spend so much time and effort frothing at the keyboard in forums and attacking those who bravely and sensibly suggest we move on with comments like "we're allowed to express our opinions, if you don't like it don't read them". You're allowed to express yours too mate, and good on you for doing so. And unless I'm mistaken isn't this supposed to be a thread discussing a talented young driver's favourite Grands Prix?

Some good choices here. Mexico in 1990 would have been a good choice, just for Mansell's overtake of Berger. Can't think of a better Belgian Grand Prix than the 98 race.

@29

I'm a student, next year I'm going to graduate, giving me a degree which set me back £18k in fees and a maintenance loan, after a lot of hard work. I'm going to be paying that off for years to come (that's if I get a job with the current graduate job situation), so is £300 a year to watch formula one that high up on my list of priorities when I have food, utilities, accomodation costs AND the millstone that is student debt on a starting salary? I think not.

So get down off your high horse and realise that people feel that their license fee is being wasted on some of the rubbish the BBC put on (yes "Epic Win" I'm looking at you there), as well as over bidding for the Olympics big time. Then when a double BAFTA awarding winning sports programme effectively gets wrecked because the Beeb need to save costs and they claim their hands were tied, people get upset and angry as they see their hard earned cash get wasted on rubbish.

@52 - Just a small point, the thread where we should be discussing the Sky deal here: https://bbc.kongjiang.org/www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/sporteditors/2011/07/f1_coverage_to_be_shared_betwe.html

...was closed after 8416 comments without satisfactory answer from the BBC. Therefore the discussion has spilled into this and other message boards out of necessity.

As always, it's good to hear both sides of an argument.

Schumacher accused Coulthard of deliberately causing a crash because that's what he would have done. I would say the accusation was very revealing, were it not for the fact that there's already so much evidence of Schumacher having no regard for fair play.

Now going to the apparent stories that Channel 4 were interested in a deal... I find it hard to believe given the quality of programmes they have lately and financial difficulties

ITV don't really care because their man sporting event is Champions League football which they would rather keep than F1.

People questioned the wisdom of the BBC using people who pay TV licences to bring F1 back...I guess a lot of people are singing a differnt tune because it was uninterrupted coverage and more overall analysis not just the Jenson or Lewis show as ITV made it out .

Then again people are questioning what they get out of paying TV licence to the BBc given the garbage they show on TV - endless cooking and reality TV shows. The only thing I enjoy is the Wildlife shows with Attenborough apart . It once showed a lot of major sporting events which are disappearing by the year so it begs to question why am I wasting £140 quid a year on the station?

@52 also G and Janner have been the most insultive with some of there comments than anyone in this thread, hardly the way to go, other people are debating some of the points they made, they arent resoritng to calling them moaning minnies, or tax dodgers or anything. and Hcumber is right, it wouldnt be being discussed here if the bbc hadnt closed the relevant blog, they have been asked on several occasions to reopen it, but have chosen not to, so its spilled out.

14. At 12:40 24th Aug 2011, G wrote:

YES, I think they acted in their best interests, as any commercial entity or individual would in such situations.

=================================

You're rather missing the point though, aren't you?

The BBC should be acting in the licence fee payers best interests - that is, after all, why they were not planning on renewing the coverage anyway, is it not? This is part of a cost cutting exercise to ensure the licence fee is spent appropriately.

All those stating that people should simply 'get Sky' are also missing the point. Because the broadcast is shared between Sky and the BBC, it means that if you buy Sky purely for the F1, you are paying the full subscription costs to only see 50% more of the races than if you didn't get Sky. In short, the BBC getting into bed with Sky has in fact increased the cost of the F1, per race, as we still have to pay the annual BBC licence fee, but now an additional cost to watch those races the BBC aren't showing.

For the record, I have Sky. That doesn't suddenly mean this decision makes any sense, though. If C4 were willing to make an acceptable bid to keep the entire season on FTA television, the BBC should have stepped aside and allowed it to happen. The licence fee payer would get all the races without any additional cost, and the BBC would save itself millions of pounds in the process.

*That* would be acting in the licence fee payers best interests.

Oh, and FYI - link to the 1998 highlights is here, for those that would rather the larger player than this embedded one:

https://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/motorsport/formula_one/8222487.stm

I find it incredibly disappointing that this is descending into a tit for tat argument, I don't want to, or think anyone should, be drawn into it.

The fact is apathy benefits no one in any shape or form, we are all entitled to our opinions and shouldn't enforce those on others. We have the responsibility to air our views on this subject.

If we make enough of a statement regarding how we feel about this, then the decisions makers should be forced to consult with fee payers before acting in situations like this in future. We may well have lost F1, but what happens when FTA cant afford the rights to the World Cup or the Olympics, its not beyond the realms of possibility is it.

I for one will not just accept it, even if its a futile exercise... I would urge others to consider what message they are sending to the BBC and other FTA broadcasters if you just shrug and let it happen.

I apologise to those who are tired of seeing comments on the subject, the fact is we are trying to save features like this for you and all of us in future.

Good races Sergio.

@57
"Now going to the apparent stories that Channel 4 were interested in a deal... I find it hard to believe given the quality of programmes they have lately and financial difficulties"

Channel 4 have publicly stated that they are actively trying to increase their sports portfolio, hence the £45m bid the put in for F1.

Some links for you:
https://www.digitalspy.co.uk/broadcasting/news/a334793/channel-4s-failed-formula-one-bid-revealed.html

https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/motorsport/2011/08/19/formula-one-supremo-bernie-ecclestone-my-hands-were-tied-over-bbc-sky-deal-115875-23354947/

I agree with you that ITV are not interested, and they didn't make a bid for the rights.

You are correct that people love the BBC coverage, 5-6 million viewers on a Sunday is not uncommon and the Bafta awards reflect this. Just another reason not to sell the family silver.

I too agree that it's just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the question of, "I pay for this....am I getting value for money"?

https://pietboon.wordpress.com/bbc-response-after-stage-2-of-bbcsky-complaints-procedure/

@ janner

You seem to think its only a question of having to pay sky.

How do you suggest i do that, i live in a conservation area and were not allowed sattelite dishs on our houses. So even if i wanted too, IAM NOT ALLOWED TO BY LAW to watch sky, or another non terristrial signal.

@51 totally and utterly agree. Theres not really anything more to say. If a public broadcaster doesn't act in the interests of the public then the public has a right (obligation even?) to complain. The BBC have endorsed and encouraged F1, an event highly popular with the public, to be broacast behind a paywall, and it goes against everything the organisation should stand for.

On a lighter note, decent if predictable choices by Perez. I was hoping for an interesting dry race sunday to see where the teams are at but having watched Spa '98 (again) I'm back to the old mantra - hope it rains!

You could put it on a stick in your garden.

I dont know if a Sky installer would do it, but its perfectly possible with a pole and line of sight, most third party installers would do it (or you could do it yourself) you only need a straight pole and a compass.

just an option for those who can / would pay for SKY but cant have it installed on the side of their house.

@64 ditto...I too live in a conservation area, for some people putting up a dish simply isn't an option.

ROB T - here's a suggestion ... MOVE

Getting a bit sick of watching the 2008 Brazilian Grand Prix. Nearly all the drivers so far have picked it.

As for next year, I would have loved F1 to stay on the BBC, but that is not going to happen. Looks like I am going to have to subscribe to Sky Sports to watch the all the races live. I dont want to be watching delayed highlights. I love the excitement in the build up to a race, and obviously the race itself. With all the media now, it will be hard not to know who has won a race before watching the highlights show.

All this user's posts have been removed.Why?

@37LS the BBC didnt lose half the GPs, they gave them to Sky because they couldnt afford to broadcast them all

@68 Janner, that's just silly.

@Chris, if that's an option for you and you want to do that then go for it. I don't personally see how Sky will create a program as good as the BBC. I fear it's likely to be dumbed down and become some kind of "Super F1 Sunday" program. I have no evidence to base this on other than the shockingly bad preview released by Sky.

I will continue to argue against the decision on the moral and ethical grounds I feel the BBC has broken, I urge others to respect the arguments we are trying to make as I respect yours (either for or against Sky) and join together in asking the BBC one simple question.

Perhaps you would all like to join me in cutting and pasting the following to try and get the BBC to take notice:

Dear BBC, please re-open Ben Gallops blog (https://bbc.kongjiang.org/www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/sporteditors/2011/07/f1_coverage_to_be_shared_betwe.html%29

...so that we can continue to discuss the deal in the right and proper place, without frustrating those who aren't concerned with the deal.

Thank you

Dear BBC, please re-open Ben Gallops blog (https://bbc.kongjiang.org/www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/sporteditors/2011/07/f1_coverage_to_be_shared_betwe.html%29

...so that we can continue to discuss the deal in the right and proper place, without frustrating those who aren't concerned with the deal.

Dear BBC, please do NOT re-open Ben Gallops blog.

The whinging and moaning is bad enough, let not encourage these people by giving them an area to go and moan.

Yes, I know this should be about Checho's Choices (movie title?), but it was bound to involve the Sky thing. I'm afraid I need to follow suit (sorry), but as AB is still a journo, this might be of interest.

For the last fortnight some of Sky's channels, including Sky's sports and the HD output, have been encountering random signal disruptions. Other channels on BSkyB do not appear to be affected, and the worst seems to be Sky Atlantic.

Customers are being told to check their systems, reboot digiboxes and other measures, but the problem is at the transmission end and Sky are not overtly admitting to this. Some customers are being fobbed off, and others appear to have paid for engineers to look at their systems from dish to TV without having been told that the problem is not unique to them.

However, that Sky have indicated that they are looking into it, and at one point said that it had been fixed (by them) indicates that they are indeed at some level aware that programmes are being disrupted, both on standard packages and premium, SD and HD, across equipment types and platforms. Even Virgin Media customers have reported experienced problems to Sky 1 programming, but this at least appears to have been resolved.

So do the F1 teams and their sponsors really want to do business with an organisation which has a problem and pretends it's not happening, potentially losing viewers in the process? And do customers want to pay extra money for an uncertain service? By 2012 Sky will probably have solved this current issue (I flippin' well hope so!), but when a broadcaster says they won't put adverts into its arts channel and then does, and seems happy to allow customers to spend money on unnecessary check-ups for a problem they know to be of their own making, do you REALLY want to do business with them? Really?

Until the BBC provides answers to the legitimate questions being put to them by the licence fee paying public in the democracy that we are supposed to be living in, these questions will continue to be asked. We have a right to ask them and we will not be supressed or censored despite the BBC's attempts to do so.

I do not believe the BBC has answered the question about why, in Bernie Ecclestone's words, they blocked the CH4 bid and themselves went running into the arms of BSkyB?

Some of the biggest F1 markets are still free to air:

Germany, Italy, France and Spain, and along with the UK saw an average increase of 15% in viewers, RTL went up by 21% and La Sexta went up by 38%, all live on free to air TV.

The BBC deal is at odds with mainland Europe, and is fan unfriendly.

Channel 4 would have been a better deal for the fans

https://www.graphicalhouse.co.uk/

@64 - R0B-T

What about Virgin Media - are you able to get cable in your area? Cable will let you watch Sky Sports without having to get a dish.

Better still Channel 4 will allow you to watch every F1 race live on TV without the need for a dish or cable... oh wait that's right the BBC have prevented that from happening by selling out to Sky.

@76 Alistair
I do not believe the BBC has answered the question about why, in Bernie Ecclestone's words, they blocked the CH4 bid

==============================================================

And you always beleive everything Bernie says?

tsk tsk tsk

G

G - it was reported from people at Channel 4 that they made a bid on the day this deal was announced, as did some people from Five on their bid.

Also I'd say that this was quite a give-a-way

https://www.graphicalhouse.co.uk/

@Joe Bloggs, I didn't think of that option it may be helpful for some people to try that route. There is no cable in my area.

@G you make a good point, Bernie Ecclestone is well known for saying one thing and changing his mind the next minute. Here's a recent example:

“If you look at their (Sky's) audience figures they are nowhere. With these figures it would be almost impossible for teams to find sponsors,” “It would be suicidal.”

https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/motorsport/2011/05/09/f1-switch-to-satellite-tv-would-be-suicide-warns-bernie-ecclestone-115875-23117299/

2007 please. I miss Kimi :o(

BACK TO THE SUBJECT IN HAND.. The Belgium 1998 race was one of the most amazing i can remember it is what got me into F1 at the age of 13. I am an avid follower and Spa is still my favourite Grand Prix Track hope it never gets taken away! Good choice!

@78 - Joe blogs

Good idea and may work for some people, but iam over 20 miles from the nearest town with cable, so thats a non starter iam afraid.

Although ive got broadband, the average dl speed is around 1mb, so streaming isnt really viable either.

Iam afraid that for me, the only option is terristrial, if a race has to be time delayed, so be it, but if its only highlights for half the races no way can i follow the season.

Firstly, I like to apologise to Sergio for not commenting on his Classic F1.

Nothing has changed - I want the BBC to give back the live, full race coverage under the official contractual two years of FTA that was originally agreed to, signed for and to be delivered to 2013 please. This is the terms and conditions you originally agreed to and celebrated with having beat ITV for the bid.

Otherwise, please answer a simple question - "Why have you changed this condition?"
Thank you
https://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/57

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

@51
Couldn't agree more. Anyone attacking fans who are actively rallying for FTA I suggest you read post 51.

Thank you
https://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/57

I liked the choices by Sergio ... different races i would not normally have talked about ... particularly Brazil 2001 ... Montoya is sorley missed ... imagine Montoya vs. Kobayashi vs. Hamilton ... i would pay to see that

Which leads me into the BBC/SKY deal ...

@G @janner
I understand you fustration that this wont go away,
But there is a reason it wont go away.
Also ... MOVE!! Yes ive now decided i'll move to Monaco so i can watch it for free once a year ... (sarcasm)

For the pepole complaining about the deal, and the BBC not listening, if you have not already i recomend joining this link; https://www.facebook.com/?ref=hp#!/groups/march.against/

@AndrewBenson
I like this set-up of asking drivers ... please find a way to continue it ... or will we only get 2.5 classic races a week next year?

For the record - I would have been far happier that F1 remained on a FTA service. I too think that being forced into a position where fans will have to pay for a full Sky Sports package to gain access to only 50% more of the races is terrible, and should never have occurred.

I also don't have much confidence in Sky Sport's reporting abilities after watching their "Sky Sports in Pole Position" video where I'm sure Tony Jardine claimed Hamilton won the championship in 2007 and referred to Alonso as Fernandez...(unless there is a Fernandez in the points somewhere that I've never heard of...)

Anyway, for those of you concerned that you will not have access to the races shown by Sky due to dish restrictions etc, the new Sky Go service is available and would allow you to watch them live through the internet.

And on topic: found Sergio's choices a bit boring, I've only really been watching F1 religiously (up in the early hours of the morning for the races on the other side of the globe) since the start of the 2009 season and I'm sure I could have thought of some more interesting ones - but they are his choices and that's what matters!

@42 Withinmyrights

Could you let the rest of us know where this pub is that is going to be showing F1 for 3 -4 hours (in an atmosphere where people can concentrate on the race) in favour of football? I think it will be very popular. Could you also ask the landlord if he will also be showing the practice/qualifying sessions and to open up in the wee small hours if need be? If so and it's not too far, I might join you. I know it would be asking a bit much, but could you also check whether there will be Free WiFi so I will know whether or not to bring my Laptop in case I want to get the FIA live timing screens etc.. If you could arrange this I'm sure that there would be many F1 fans that would be eternally grateful to you.

Back to the racing...

In the 1998 race, after Schumacher's retirement he goes along to confront Coulthard - who's out of the car at the time (you can see his helmet with the saltire clearly).

Yet later on, Couthard's in the background, back racing. So he could get out of his car while it was being worked on in the pits, then back in again once he had a new rear wing?

Loved seeing the 98 race.

90. At 16:51 24th Aug 2011, Jebus01 wrote:

I also don't have much confidence in Sky Sport's reporting abilities after watching their "Sky Sports in Pole Position" video where I'm sure Tony Jardine claimed Hamilton won the championship in 2007

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Oh god, I've just watched that video. The first 20 seconds really set the scene - it was an advert >.

i whole hartedly agrea that this deal is terrible , i have sighned the e-pertition sent formal complaint to the BBC also e-mailed my mp , however i dont think for a minute that sky will let the deal be reversed , not at least until the see the veiwing stats! that could easly be a couple of years!
what i would like clarifacation on is , Martin Whitmarsh stated in an interveiw at hungry that the BBC whould be showing a whole defferd race in its entirety , also Bernnie stated that it was an option for the BBC!
So why! oh why! do the BBC insist that we are going to have a highlights package. if it is an option, then the licence fee paying F1 fans would by a country mile prefer a FULL "defferd" race ,from lights out to winners press conferance! what possibe motivation could there be to choose highlights over a full race? it simply doesnt make any sence to any one with some commen sence! so can the BBC please explaine why they are not showing the full race or can they please let us know that it is indeed a possibilaty and may acually happen? or will sky be the primary broadcaster in the uk and disallow the BBC to show the full defferd race ? if this is the case then that does indeed contavine the CA!

Can I watch these highlights on Sky next year please.

Another week, another blog...

To those of you asking us to stay on topic and post somewhere else, where on the BBC blogs do you suggest?

To everyone else who is and has been voicing their disgust at the BBC for the deal with Sky and the way they have handled the aftermath, great reading and RIP F1 as we knew it. I also noticed Tony Jardine inventing a new driver "Fernandez" in the Sky F1 preview video which was obviously just a slip of the tongue, but very unfortunate timing and made my heart sink and my wallet even more likely to stay closed. I have enjoyed following F1 for 30 years and fear that this will be my last season, as it will be for so many others. One of the few really positive British success stories killed by the very British institution that is supposed to be cherished in the same way by its people. Perhaps when the BBC is killed off it won't be a great surprise to anyone. There now isn't anything on the BBC worth tuning in for. Think I might sell the TV.

just watched belguim98 highlights great race ill never tire of watching and now i know what to expect next year from the bbc

:) yay for the fans of f1 (sarcasm intended)

I recon someone should create a wikipedia page about the bbc/sky f1 controvesy. We need to publicize this outrage as much as possible!

Chris, If you love the build up etc, etc, Be warned, this is the level of intelligence that you will be in for next year:
https://www.skysports.com/video/inline/0,,12870_7067060,00.html
Sorry about the advert at the beginning, but you might as well start getting used to it now.
Me, I'm defecting to the Germans

ok i've edited the 2011 formula one season wikipedia page. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2011_Formula_One_season