Crofty shows why he’s one of the best with Sky Sports F1 commentary box tour
Sky Sports F1 lead commentator David Croft offered fans an insight into life in the gantry at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, walking viewers through the ins and outs of his role before transitioning into the live broadcast.
The 53-year-old welcomed the Sky Sports F1 cameras into his commentary box in the pit building mere minutes before the start of the FP2 broadcast. He kicked off his whistle-stop tour by introducing the team’s sound supervisor Gareth who, as Croft explained, sets up the room ahead of sessions and is on standby to solve any issues that are presented to the team.
Croft then introduced former Super Aguri and Minardi driver Anthony Davidson, who was standing in for Martin Brundle on co-commentary duties for the second practice session of the Abu Dhabi GP weekend.
Davidson’s regular home is at ‘Sky race control’, which Croft explained was a part of the main commentary booth. “Race control sits over here,” he noted. “Where Ant has got a load of onboard monitors and the weather radar and all the team radio he needs to give us more of an insight.”
Click here to join our WhatsApp community to be the first to receive breaking and exclusive F1 news.
Don’t miss… Sergio Perez lays down gauntlet to Max Verstappen with bold warning despite[LATEST]
He then showed the commentary box’s in-house camera – this is often used during practice session broadcasts, but never during qualifying or races. However, this piece of equipment also has a second use.
“We use that not just to record us when we’re doing pieces to camera,” Croft continued, “but also so I can communicate with everyone back in the gallery. They’re in London and I can talk to them on our little panel here.”
Croft then showcased an eight-monitor configuration with the race video feed on a large screen in the middle. Those dotted around the session footage screen contained the Sky Sports F1 transmission, driver GPS trackers, timing pages and the stewards’ information.
- Support fearless journalism
- Read The Daily Express online, advert free
- Get super-fast page loading
More F1…
Mick Schumacher details Sebastian Vettel’s input after securing exciting new gig[OPINION]
Lewis Hamilton and George Russell could ‘cost Mercedes £7m’ at Abu Dhabi GP[INSIGHT]
Lewis Hamilton replacement among three drivers investigated at Abu Dhabi GP[NEWS]
Moving on from the screens, Croft directed attention to nine different sheets of paper that were taped to the wall of the booth. They contained a wealth of statistics relating to the different drivers and teams, including their wins, podiums, recent form and qualifying performances.
The iconic commentator then wrapped up his tour of the commentary setup by showing off his hand-written session notes before transitioning smoothly into the introductory sequences of the FP2 broadcast, showing why he is one of the best in the business.
Source: Read Full Article