Quote from ATHome :

I prefer watching F1 on RTL because Marc Surer is far worse then Heiko Wasser

To me he's the only sane German-speaking commentator. What don't you like about him?

Quote from turbo4door :

Speedvision in the U.S.

We've got Bob Varsha, David Hobbs, and Steve Matchett. By far the BEST comentary team out there. THey work great together, have lots of experience (driver, mechanic, etc) and they LOVE it themselves.

That being said, when they had Derek Daily cover part of the USGP I nearly wanted to shoot myself. That guy needs his vocal cords removed slowly and painfully

I quite like the combo of those guys but I'm not so sure about David Hobbs anymore when he said at the US GP with the tyre problems that they should all just run regardless of the manufacturer telling them the tyres had defects. I lost a lot of respect for him then and with a couple of other things he has said. Still a cool guy though and a good team of guys who are a laugh to listen to. I prefer Martin Brundle though, just as I think he is generally more clued in to what is happening in a race than any of the others.

I believe we have the worst here in Montreal, Qc, Canada. We also happen to have one of the best, who's the regular commentator, but he also happens to do Hockey, so when the season starts and our team goes for a match away, he goes away too.
So sometimes at the beginning or the end of the F1 season, when there's still hockey (or it's just started), we get this **** who doesn't know sh!t about F1. It's totally ridiculous I believe he doesn't know which driver is with which team.
Michel Y. Lacroix is his name.
Normally he comments Curling... and should be left at that.

Sometimes while watching F1 here in the UK, i think Martin Brundle must be gagging to stick the nut on James Allen. Allen never listens to what Brundle says and often repeats the exact same thing that Brundle has just told you illepall.
Very annoying :chair:

I think Mika Salo has some good points when he is commentating. He can sometimes tell some interesting stuff why someone did something or why not etc.

And about finnish commentators, in the last race when Trulli retired the finnish commentators noticed it "only" after 10 or 20 laps later

OT:
Hmm, in Finland the F1 is basically on pay channel next year (two hour delay on free channel)... Maybe I'll look for some other pay channels that show F1 racing next year, if the price is the same. Haven't checked prices yet though... :juggle:

jenson button last year and anthony davidson this year made good commentators

Quote :

Is there any country, in which there are only good commentators?

There used to be, but Murray Walker retired.

My answer to the original question, James Allen. Not just because he is clearly clueless, very patronising, and invents hugely annoying metaphors, but because he strongly believes he can do a better job than everybody around him. In the last two races for instance he said that the director was a ... what's the word he uses? Numpty, I believe. He thinks he can do a better job than everyone, when clearly he cannot even do his own.

I feel sorry for him because he followed on from Murray Walker and that is a hard act to follow.

I also feel sorry for him in a special needs kind of way.

Quote from Hyperactive :

I think Mika Salo has some good points when he is commentating. He can sometimes tell some interesting stuff why someone did something or why not etc.

And about finnish commentators, in the last race when Trulli retired the finnish commentators noticed it "only" after 10 or 20 laps later

Yeah, Salo rules, love his attitude and how he talks honestly what he thinks. The main "commentator" is a mostly a joke, blind bat with wooden eyes sometimes and with some sort of name bending fetish.

I have to disagree about Athony Davidson, the guy was just full of himself and taking credit for Jenson's win, whilst at the same time constantly repeating the word "like", or somesuch word or phrase which at the time was hugely irritating. Martin Brundle does the second/technical commentry role brilliantly (far better than anyone else in the UK ever has, no disrespect to James Hunt intended).

Quote from hrtburnout :

Olav Mol is good, afaik.

And no longer a commentator... Allard Kalff is probably the WORST commentator ever.

Germany RTL:

Christian Danner: Ex F1 driver is OK and usually analyses things right.

Heiko Wasser: OMG he always speculate about all and everything in a strange way so often Danner has to say "no it's more like ..."

And I hate Wasser for saying:
Now...(break and everyone knows what's comming) We are doing our pitstop for a little commercial break but you don't miss anything (wtf 80% of the time you miss something special) and after that break: Oh yes there happend an accident/nice takeover/etc. ... here is the replay.

Kai Ebel: He is is just a reporter and no commentator. Anyone remembers the time when he always runs around the pits with his fake RTL racing suit on? (illepall) Now he is older has less hair and usually wear clothes that he thinks let him look young (but if you watch his strange colour cobinations to often you can get eye cancer from that (check the pic.)

The only good thing I have ever seen from him was when M. Schumacher sneaked at him from behind and emtied a half liter can of beer over his head

Agree 100%.

And I cant stop laughing at the picture on the left, lol. Look at the hair.

Quote from zeugnimod :

Agree 100%.

And I cant stop laughing at the picture on the left, lol. Look at the hair.

Elvis is alive

Quote from zeugnimod :

Is there any country, in which there are only good commentators?

Russia F1 is broadcasted by Ren-TV channer (public, not subrscibed) with only one commentator, Alexei Popov. He is excelent. I don't know if satellite TV companies (NTV+) broadcast F1 in Russia.

DTM is commented quite good by Oksana Kosachenko (female! ) She speaks very fast like Italian commentators. She also comments Renault WS, Euro-3000, LMS and WTCC with Andrei Larinin, Russian F1.Racing journal chief editor. They make a very good duet. Other guys in other series are good. There are only two persons who occasionally appear in DTM or support races, who speak averagely. But in general commentators are good.

To be honest, just 3 years ago the same commentators of non-F1 races were bad, they often pissed me off, but since that time they improved their skills very much.

Quote from bbman :

Heinz Prüller... Hasn't got a clue and tells the same stories from ancient times over and over again while he misses everything that happens on the track... He really does need the replays to be able to commentate what happened a few laps ago... :doh:

okay, thats true, but i think without heinz, the formula1 would be the most boring 2 hour show on ORF-TV. without these stories everything would be like on RTL with that ****ing Kay Ebel (i hate this guy!)

Prüller is a legend, doing comentary since the 60ies on formula 1, writing over 70 books about formula1. he has the insight, he has the knowledge and he has the voice. allthough he sometimes misses a thing or two on his tiny tv-monitor whilest looking up some stats or stories i love him!

O/T

Steve Parrish and Charlie Cox seem well suited whilst commentating on the Moto GP. They have a good knowledge of racing and at the same time have a good sense of humour

Galvão Bueno, brazillian sports commentator.
Everything he says is just stupid. illepall
Not only on F1 races, but also on soccer, volleyball, tennis, other racing categories etc..

James frickin Allen, no question. I don't have cable so he's what I get, no choice. I'd mute the TV but I like Marty Brundle and I like engine noises (funny, that).
Curse ITV - why won't they give his parking space to someone who has half a clue? How much hate mail do you think they'd get about Mr "SHOUTY SHOUT OOPS I'VE MISSED EVERYTHING"?

He's annoying at a generally consistent level and if you concentrate on the racing you can tune him out and wait for Marty to say stuff. However, he pushed me beyond mere dislike and towards bloodshot-eyed hatred when Jense won his first race. Oh. My. GOD. JAMES, SHUT THE FARK UP! I know commentators can't be impartial all the time and can't help but be a little proud of their countrymen whipping arse but come on, James, it sounded like you had snorted four grams of crystal and won both the lottery AND a double date with Beyonce and Monica Bellucci. The screaming, the carrying on like a bloody idiot, Sheeezus! I wanted to slap you HARD. With Schuey's entire trophy collection.

I like the commentary, however, for the Australian GP as we get our own local blokes from Channel 10. Neil Crompton really is a great commentator as he's an ex-racer himself and is very knowledgeable about all things racing and is great at describing what's going on both on and off the track. He's very observant as well and doesn't get too excited. He usually gets paired with Bill Woods or another layman in the box, but even our most annoying motorsport commentator - Leigh Diffey, please stop shouting about everything - isn't a patch on James Allan. Funny how some commentators seem to equate excitement with volume... But our Darryl Beatie, an ex-500cc rider who does the MotoGP commentary down here (with Mr Shouty Diffey, poor Daz), rarely gets above a sleepy Aussie drawl, even if our Casey Stoner's challenging Vale for the lead and they're an inch apart

When we used to get Superbike coverage on free TV down here (bring them back you bastards!), whoever those British guys were who did the commentary were just awesome. They cracked me up

Murray Walker

GO!!!!GO!!!!!GO!!!!!!

GO!!!! AwaY!

There is one dream combo in finnish F1 commentators: Mika Salo and *drumroll* Antero Mertaranta FTW! I'm not sure whether Antsa could do the F1 commentating but I's sure as hell give them a shot. I guess some finns could tell that Matti Kyllönen could do better than Antsa, but I doubt it...

Sup dudes, well mexico has Televisa Commentator they f·"!$%k every race, hahahaha they are as bad that in every race one of the commentators confuse Kimi with Mika.... I couldn't stop laughin the first time i heard him

Fox Sports dudes are good

Heh I can imagine halfway through the race:

"Hi. I am Kimi. I missed half the race because I was having a sh*t."

Be better than James Allen though.

Quote :

Murray Walker

GO!!!!GO!!!!!GO!!!!!!

GO!!!! AwaY!

He did, several years ago. It was a sad day.

Quote :

I'd pay a squillion dollars to hear an F1 race commentated by Juan Pablo Montoya and Kimi Rakkonen.

Juan: He is driving like a prick.
Kimi: err, yeh.
Juan: I would never have made that mistake.
Kimi: [sarcasm] err, yeh.
Juan: That man shouldn't even be in Formula One!
Kimi: [irony] err, yeh.

Sounds like a recipe for disaster to me, one over excited raging inferno of ego, and the other who, admittedly quite narratively, never breaks into a third syllable.

Quote from McArthurBR :

Galvão Bueno, brazillian sports commentator.
Everything he says is just stupid. illepall
Not only on F1 races, but also on soccer, volleyball, tennis, other racing categories etc..

Is he a relative by any chance of Caca Bueno?

(Brazilian racing driver, for those who don't know him)