THE new Formula One season roared into life this week in Melbourne. Actually, F1 cars do not roar so much these days as regulation changes over the years means the noise around events on the track is slightly strangulated compared to yesteryear.
However, what is still loud and clear is just how big a sporting event Grand Prix racing is, and, how that spectacle will be delivered around the world, on TV.
Channel 4’s Lee McKenzie is one of the most recognised faces on our screens, having presented from the heart of the F1 circus for a decade. This year however, will be her last on the grid.
“This is my last year regardless of what happens,” says McKenzie, with conviction. A blank cheque may change her mind, but in terms of her career, she has pretty much seen and done F1, and has other new things on the horizon.
“I’ve served my time and for me, regardless of what broadcasters are involved, it seems like a natural break for me anyway. I’m not doing all the races this season, but I haven’t done that since 2013. I’ll miss Bahrain and China, then I’m back for Azerbaijan. But it has been that way for a few years now.
“I’ve been very busy and trying to shoehorn things in here there and everywhere. But it is not sustainable to work like that, and I need a bit more of a balance in my life and career.”
With Sky owning the broadcast rights in this country, meeting their "free-to-air" obligations (ie being plumbed in to 75 per cent of households) means they will hive off that quota to a digital platform they own, rather than C4 or any other terrestrial broadcasters.
For McKenzie, there are interesting times ahead for how F1 is presented to a global audience, especially with who is now steering things at the top. That could mean more Americanisation in terms of presentation.
“F1 have launched their own live streaming platform, and they will – as promoters of the sport – create a lot more content. It will be interesting times ahead, seeing how the sport evolves over the next few years under the direction of Liberty Media, because there is this whole American influence being brought in to F1.
“We saw it at the US GP last year. For me it felt a little bit like showing off in front of your friends. They paid ludicrous amounts of money to have Usain Bolt there, Justin Timberlake, Stevie Wonder, even the boxing MC, Michael Buffer. The drivers walked down a red carpet, and on to the grid. And this was meant to increase the excitement and enhance the experience of a Grand Prix?
“The reality was Max Verstappen stepped up on the podium, then gets disqualified because he puts four wheels over a white line while overtaking Kimi Raikkonen on the last lap.
“That’s $20 million down the drain, because in the end, the only thing anyone talked about for weeks was the Verstappen pass being deemed illegal.
“I don’t think in F1 you need to try to force the rhetoric of the sport, because the sport itself is always going to be more glamorous, more exciting and more controversial, just by its very nature of always having been those things.”
After a week of presenting the Winter Paralympics, the Cheltenham Festival and England v Ireland Six Nations rugby (both men and women), the flight to Oz gave her a day of recharging the batteries and reading up on what was happening in F1, or rather, what hadn’t happened.
“Normally, ahead of the first Grand Prix, I’d have been reading up on stats and facts and details. But this year there wasn’t any.
“Even though we had winter testing, the weather the teams encountered in Barcelona made it live up to that title. It therefore wasn’t representative of where teams were in their preparation,” she says. “That meant there was a lot new to the teams then when they began running this week.
“The technical changes aren’t huge either. The biggest one being the most noticeable change to the cars in recent years, with the fitting of the halo device. It isn’t universally popular, and aesthetically, it takes a bit of getting used to. For me it looks better than I thought it would, now they’ve been painted and liveried up, and, after a wee while, we will just accept it as the norm.”
For McKenzie, Melbourne was the ideal scene-setter for the season to come.
“It’s a bit like going back to school after the summer holidays, seeing all the old faces, some new ones, noticing those who’ve left, seeing who has moved teams, who has a new pencil case, or new hair, teeth …” she laughs.
“There is some serious business going on but Melbourne is still quite a chilled and relaxed atmosphere and just such a great city to kick thinks off in.”
This week meant teaming up with old pals David Coulthard and Eddie Jordan.
“DC, who is a great friend, has a wealth of knowledge and experience. Just a few years ago, he was doing what he now talks about. A great insight for the viewer.
“Eddie Jordan is another. Eddie is a bit ‘Marmite.’ But, people in Formula 1, and those who know about F1, absolutely love Eddie because he is incredibly intelligent and can add a specific knowledge – and madness – to proceedings. Eddie always knows what’s going on. Sometimes, you question who might be switching teams, and Eddie will say, ‘oh, but they are – I’ve just done the deal!’ Behind the scenes, he is still working and doing his bit. And again, that’s great television.”
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel