Sky - It begins

When I found out Sky would be showing the GP2 and GP3 I decided to make the leap. £30 a month to watch sport. What's happened to me?

I watched the first show on the new Sky Sports F1 HD channel. Firstly, considering all the adverts were so flashy, it was a little dull. I know they haven't had the chance to go out and film any beautiful, high-def, slow-mo car shots yet but still. The show was a bit of a let down.


Presenters

I don't like the pundits-on-the-sofa approach either. There was something wrong with the outfits. Perhaps it was Damon Hill's vest, Simon Lazenby's chest hair or Martin Brundle's bad jean/jacket combo. I can't quite put my finger on it but something was wrong.

Now, I am a huge fan of BBC's Jake Humphrey (mainly for aesthetic reasons, I'll admit). So I was hoping that if I were being a BBC-traitor then I'd at least have some eye candy. Simon Lazenby is relatively attractive but in talking about F1 he seemed kind of wooden, as if he was simply reading from a script rather than having any knowledge of the sport himself.

Georgie's interview with Jenson was cringe-worthy. She wasn't dressed appropriately, although she did look smokin' hot! Some male friends said she was there to help draw the female viewers in. No, I think she's definitely there for the benefit of male viewers.

Natalie Pinkham and Anthony Davidson were good. Natalie's outfit choice was questionable (was she wearing pedal pushers?) but she's nice to look at. Anthony Davidson is lovely, looked rather dashing and obviously knows his stuff.

I am very much enjoying seeing more of Ted Kravitz. He know's what he's talking about and is good in front of the camera. He stole the show for me. Yay for more Ted!

I didn't like the idiot presenter who doesn't know anything about Formula One. No, just fuck off.

Technology

The Skypad. What's that about? When they first started using it I was baffled that they weren't acknowledging it and saying how cool it was. Apparently they use it for the football, though, so that would explain why they don't see it as a new commodity and I do...

It's a cool piece of technology. I like the dragging and dropping of the videos and the slow-motion dial. It's all very swish. Is it really necessary though? I can't wait for live shows when that fucks up.

The 3D representation of the McLaren was very impressive. I liked that. Good to get a look at a car from all different angles.

Coverage

It was okay but I'm going to reserve judgement until we actually hit the F1 season. Obviously adverts were annoying but we won't be having those during races. (But we will during build up...)

The rest of the stuff on the channel seems to be very repetitive. I'm hoping that, once the season is underway, I will be able to watch the channel at multiple times during the day and not see the same programme being repeated over and over.

More swish shots of pit stops, close encounters and Mark Webber please.

Also, someone tell me Martin will still be doing his pit walks and that all the Sky build up will be at the track rather than in the stupid studio. That studio lacks character. Someone buy them a pot plant, please.

I'm pretty sure I'm going to be sticking with the BBC for the live races I can watch with them. Not only for the Jake/Eddie/DC dynamic but also because the coverage has been tip-top for the last few years and I don't think Sky will match that.