F1
Croft is the voice of both Sky Sports' Formula One coverage and Codemasters' hit series of F1 games. So what exactly does it take to commentate on a Grand Prix without flailing around for words?
Fans of Formula One will be familiar with the jovial voice of David Croft excitedly commentating every live session over a race weekend. 'Crofty', as he's known to friends and fans alike, began commentating on UK radio station BBC Radio 5 Live before moving to Sky Sports in 2012 to work alongside the likes of Martin Brundle, Jonny Herbert and Ant Davidson in the commentary box.
Since 2010, Croft has also been the voice of Codemasters' series of F1 games, the latest version of which, F1 2019, has just been released.
“It’s as realistic as you can possibly make it,” he explains. “In terms of the penalties, they’re as draconian in the game as they are in real life, it seems. The rules are the same, the set-up work you can do with your engineer is all the same. This year, for the first time, you don’t have to stick with the same team; you can move from team to team, depending on how your career mode is going. So they’re making it more and more realistic with every single iteration of the game.”
There's also the option to start your single-seater career as early as you like: “This year, we have the F2 cars and an F2 career story as well, so you don’t have to start in F1 – you can start in F2. Which, as my 12-year-old son pointed out to me today, 'is the right way to do it, dad!' He also said, 'you can’t just come in and be an F1 star, you’ve got to do your homework first.’” Wise words indeed from the youngster.
Fans of the game are also excited about the new 'Legends Edition’, which allows users to play out a championship battle between Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost for the first time. A long list of classic cars is also available to play with.
“But what I really love about working with Codemasters," explains Croft, "is the fact they want to make it as real as they possibly can, so the instructions are always: here's the line, say it how you would say it; if you wouldn’t say it in those words then don’t use those words, we want you and your commentary style.”
"I always try to imagine I’m there at the race track and imagine that I’m talking directly to the viewers and make it sound as realistic as I possibly can," he adds.
It's a role Croft revels in. He is, after all, a master of F1 commentary. Which is why we asked him to give us his top tips for commentating on a Formula One race.
1. Use every tool you have available
You might listen to David Croft and Martin Brundle and think they're all-knowing geniuses, as they rattle off F1 stat after F1 stat, pinpoint exactly who’s where on the track, and alert us to things before we've seen a thing. But that's not quite the case.
Croft tells us that they have GPS driver trackers, timing screens, a channel to the pit lane and even an additional unofficial timing screen. Not to mention an army of people collecting stats and news from the paddock, and, of course, co-commentators.
“And I can look out the window,” he explains. “I did that in Monaco, when the local director decided he didn’t want to see Max Verstappen stop, even though that was the story. So when he came in at the same time as Valtteri Bottas, I knew it was going to be exciting. I was commentating out of the window, which made it a lovely change.”
2. Remember, you’re telling a story
“You know, Martin and I, when we commentate on a race, we’re hugely privileged. People invite us into their lives, be it in to their living room or kitchen, or on their tablet. They make a conscious decision to listen to us and let us be part of their moment. We’re having a conversation with that particular viewer and helping them understand and appreciate and enjoy what we’re appreciating and enjoying as well.”
Because of this, he wants to make it worth your while when you tune in on a Sunday afternoon:
“I spend a lot of time on Sunday mornings talking to people in the paddock to get a handle on strategy and problems and influences in the race. Not so I can tell what's happening before it does – it’s so I can tell you what is going on when it does happen,” he clarifies. “I’m not going to say, ‘so and so is going to stop on lap 15’, because they might not. They might stop on lap 20. But if I know that they were meant to stop on lap 15 and they stop on lap 20, then they’re running a different strategy."
“When you’re telling a story, it’s all in your own words," he adds. "It’s how you see things. If I saw things wrong, I wouldn’t be doing the job I’m doing now!”
3. Prepare, prepare and prepare some more
Croft isn’t pulling all those statistics he reels off during Grands Prix from the top of his head, you know. “I’m sat at my desk at the moment and I have my half-finished notes for France in front of me, which I’ve been writing out by hand. So you prepare and you prepare for eventualities and you prepare to talk about anything.”
Before each race, Croft does some serious research. “I have a sheet of A4 paper divided into 12 boxes for each team and the drivers in each team, with a few seasonal stats as well,” he says. “Right now, I can tell you stuff like, Mercedes have scored more one-two finishes in 2019 than Ferrari have in the last decade; three drivers are yet to score points; three drivers have yet to out-qualify their team-mate; and then driver-specific stats and team-specific stats.”
He also prepares a track map with statistics about the race and the area and the wall in the commentary box will be covered in charts with details from the last 20 races: starts, wins, podiums, poles, points, you name it. “In Formula One, you never know what you’re going to be talking about next, so you need information around you, and you need to know where to find it in a hurry.”
4. Open your mind and use your natural instinct
“You have to keep your mind open going into a race. There's no script for a Formula One race. And if there is, we don’t see it in advance! It’s all played out live, in front of our eyes. If you free your mind enough, so you don’t come in with any preconceptions about how a race will be run, then you basically react to what's going on."
“You rely on instinct and you rely on a very good piece of advice that Martin Brundle gave me in my first season, when I was working for BBC 5 Live. We had lunch together in Brazil and it was the first time we’d really talked. You can always talk about the weather or pigeons or whatever if conversation gets a bit dull. On TV, you can’t do that. You struggle for something to say. He says, ‘I take your point, but there's always something to say, there’s always something to talk about’, and I’ve remembered that for the rest of my career.”
5. Make sure you’re not watching a replay!
Croft says he doesn’t really believe in the "commentator’s curse", however he does recall one blunder he made during a race.
“I do remember in Monaco one year [2013], Martin and I were having such a good time and I was getting very excited. Jenson Button and Sergio Perez were having a great scrap coming out of the tunnel towards the chicane, and I was getting really animated and really excited, and Martin is looking at me like I’m going mad. So I’m getting even more animated and I’m thinking, ‘why is he looking at me like that?’, and then he points to the screen and it said ‘replay’ at the top of the monitor. I was commentating in real-time on a replay.”
