ITV showed that when it mattered, they could cover an unfolding event properly. Even though it was a low point for Formula 1, the 2005 United States Grand Prix was a high point for ITV’s coverage. When it became clear that there was a chance that the race would go ahead without the Michelin runners, ITV ripped up the running order and covered the unfolding scenario almost as though it was a rolling news channel.

When the Michelin runners pulled in at the end of the formation lap, ITV could easily have chosen to dump the coverage. Apparently, some channels around the world did. But ITV, to their credit, stuck with the race which was in a prime-time slot, knowing that what was happening was a huge story for Formula 1. The coverage itself was superb, striking just the right balance and bringing across to the viewer just what a farce it had become.

As James Allen says:

Commentating on the ‘race’ was completely different from any other race, as the story was as much about how the situation had arisen, how the crowd was taking it and where the sport would go next as it was about race action.

And Ted Kravitz points out:

Open hostility amongst the teams, the drivers literally powerless, and us on ITV broadcasting a meaningless race with six cars and ripping into the product we were meant to be promoting: a business that had forgotten it should be a sport.

That edition was nominated for a Bafta, but it didn’t win. Instead, ITV won Baftas for its coverage of the first race wins for Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton. In both instances, the coverage was not particularly good for a host of reasons which I have outlined before.

ITV pulled off a master-stroke by selecting Martin Brundle has Murray Walker’s co-commentator. By all accounts, Brundle was a revelation as a television presenter, apparently leaving producers agog at his seemingly natural talent in front of the camera. It is all the more impressive when you consider the fact that Martin Brundle didn’t even want to be with ITV — he was still after a race seat!

Martin Brundle’s gridwalks have been one of the few must-see aspects of ITV’s pre-race coverage. However, over time it has become more and more farcical, as Brundle was increasingly asked by producers to interview irrelevant celebrities, and drivers continually give him the cold shoulder.

Mind you, the gridwalk has provided one of ITV’s finest comedy moments.

It wasn’t the only time a potty-mouthed driver let rip on live television. One of the most memorable was Mark Webber being interviewed after Sebastian Vettel crashed into him at Fuji last year. Live on British breakfast television, he explained, “It’s just kids. They do a good job, then they fuck it all up!”

And in Australia 2008, David Coulthard actually threatened to kick “three colours of shit out of the little bastard” Felipe Massa.

Meanwhile, Louise Goodman has said that this classic DC moment was her most memorable interview at ITV. Check out the professionalism of Jim Rosenthal!

In the background of that clip you can hear pundit Tony Jardine trying his hardest to stifle his laughter. The analyst was the only person other than Murray Walker to make the leap from the BBC to ITV in 1997, albeit in a different role (he was pitlane reporter at the Beeb). Tony Jardine remained with ITV until a few years ago. The decision to dispose of him in favour of Mark Blundell is one of the many questionable decisions that ITV have taken in recent years.

Simon Taylor used to work alongside Tony Jardine as pundit. He provided another comedy moment in 1997 when ITV inadvisedly presented the coverage for the Monaco Grand Prix from a yacht in the harbour. The boat bobbed up and down so much that Simon Taylor was unable to broadcast because he became seasick! I think a few viewers probably felt a bit seasick as well. ITV opted to present its Monaco coverage from a balcony in later years.

Simon Taylor was less engaging as a pundit and did not feature in ITV’s coverage for long. In fact, looking at the retrospective on ITV’s own website, it is as though Tony Jardine and Simon Taylor never existed.

All-in-all, I think the story of ITV’s coverage since 1997 is one that started off earnestly but dropped off over the years. The decision to hire experienced and respected analysts like Tony Jardine and Simon Taylor along with Murray Walker was the right move. It kept the F1 purists happy.

It certainly made up for the decision to employ Jim Rosenthal, someone who had no interest in F1 at the start, as the show’s anchor. I thought Jim Rosenthal did a very good job considering his inexperience of F1, and I think his understanding of the sport was very good by the time he left ITV-F1 a few years ago.

It was clear that ITV was proud that it had F1 coverage in 1997. I recall that in the run-up to their first race in Australia, ITV broadcast an entire evening of F1-based programming including a one-off chat show presented by Clive James and featuring several drivers, and a showing of the classic film Grand Prix.

And check out the original title sequence. It is dark, mysterious, and classy — a complete world away from the cheese-fest that ITV-F1 has become.

Looking at some of ITV’s programmes from the early years, which can be easily found on YouTube, the tone of the programme is surprisingly different. The pace is slower, as though the coverage is being given room to breathe — very different from the frenetic Hamilton worshipping of later years.

Over the years, the best aspects of ITV’s coverage were stripped away one-by-one. Murray Walker’s retirement was a big blow which I don’t think ITV ever quite recovered from. While in the early years ITV hauled a dedicated studio around the world to present its track-side coverage from, more recently the poor presenters have been left shouting above the noise of engines in the pitlane — completely pointless.

The decision along the line to ditch its respected analysts in favour of the more populist Mark Blundell was questionable. And the general focus on light features and Hamilton-hype in the later years left a sour taste.

Having said that, F1 coverage has undoubtedly come on leaps and bounds. Occasional technical features fronted by Martin Brundle were excellent. And it has to be said that the hour-long build up that ITV typically offered was a tremendous commitment, even if all too often the post-race analysis was hurriedly wrapped up if the race was longer than expected (i.e. any time it rained, or any grand prix shown in prime time).

And you have to feel sorry in a way for ITV. When they picked up the F1 rights in 1996, they will have been expecting F1 to be on the cusp of a Damon Hill era, thereby guaranteeing British bums on seats. Unfortunately, the Damon Hill era fizzled out even more quickly than it began, as Hill drove for the hopelessly uncompetitive Arrows team in 1997. Then ITV had to suffer the ignominy of covering the dull years of Schumacher dominance and Ferrari dirty scheming.

So it’s worth saying thank you to ITV and North One for the work they have put into bringing F1 to our homes for the past twelve seasons. We complained about the adverts and James Allen, but they also brought F1 coverage in the UK to a new level and the BBC have been given a tough act to follow.

There was another reason why the European Grand Prix was great. It brought the one-off return of Murray Walker, commentating on an F1 race for a UK broadcaster for the first time since 2001.

Radio Five Live’s regular Formula 1 commentator, David Croft, was off to watch his baby being born. Murray Walker was invited to fill his chair for one race only.

This presented a dilemma to F1 fans: do you stick with the ITV coverage, or do you switch on the radio to listen to Murray Walker?

I was a little bit worried that Murray Walker’s commentary would not be up to much. He did, after all, retire for a reason. His later years on ITV were sometimes frustrating to listen to. His mind was not quite as sharp as it once was, and he regularly had to stop mid-sentence to have a coughing fit.

On the one hand, we knew what we were going to get by sticking to the ITV commentary. James Allen is disliked by many, but at least he does not make as many mistakes as Murray Walker was known to in the latter part of his career. ITV also has the excellent Martin Brundle.

But this was a one-off. A chance to listen to the greatest commentator in the world say, “And it’s go go go!” just one last time.

I opted to listen to Murray Walker, but in retrospect I should have recorded his commentary and listened to it after the race. But that wasn’t anything to do with Murray Walker. He was, in fact, much better than I expected!

But the nature of Radio Five Live meant that three sporting events were being covered at once. And while the Grand Prix took the bulk of the airtime, there were long periods where the focus was on golf or cricket instead. So it was not a full race commentary.

But apart from that, it was a joy to listen to. The producers obviously knew the sort of people who would be tuning in to listen to Murray Walker, and the broadcast began with a familiar tune — but one that hasn’t introduced a Grand Prix for over ten years.

“Aah, they’re playing my tune!”, said a delighted Murray Walker. And immediately he was into the swing of things. He didn’t bumble along as I feared. He might be 83, but you would not be able to guess it. He still knows how to broadcast.

It was classic Murray. He used plenty of catchphrases without descending into self-parody. No one else can start a Grand Prix like Murray Walker.

One light. Two lights. Three lights. Four lights! Five lights! …AND IT’S GO! GO! GO!

It was not perfect throughout. At times he was commentating for the radio, but a couple of times he slipped into saying things like, “and you are looking at…” He also often got tangled up, forgetting people’s positions from time to time.

There was also a classic “Murrayism”.

And Winkelhock goes through in the orange Spyker, well down the field… Well, he’s not well down the field, he’s actually in tenth position because he’s yet to come in.

That was when Winkelhock led the race! Although Murray Walker can be forgiven because I found that fact difficult to believe myself…

I do not agree with everything that Murray Walker says. He supports the British drivers a bit too much for my liking. He was also far too sympathetic to Michael Schumacher. He is seemingly the only person in the world who does not believe that Schumacher deliberately caused crashes at Adelaide in 1994 and Jerez in 1997.

But it is impossible not to love him as a broadcaster. As a describer of action, no one can rival him. Clive James said, “In his quieter moments, it sounds like his trousers are on fire.”

If I live to be 83, I hope that I can have just a fraction of the energy and enthusiasm that Murray Walker has. When something interesting his happening on the circuit, Murray Walker is the first to get excited, and soon enough everyone knows about it.

A particularly colourful and vivid description of Alonso overtaking Massa towards the end of the race showed exactly why Murray Walker is so highly regarded.

Alonso is practically sawing the Ferrari in half with his nose cone!

Utter genius.

(Thanks to Tom for giving me the opportunity to hear Murray Walker’s commentary even though I was at work when the race was on!)

Well that’s blown it. The most exciting new talent to hit Formula 1 in a long time is about to find himself in the centre of the dreaded British tabloid hype. Jenson Button wilted under the spotlight. Lewis Hamilton might not cope much better, despite the nerves of steel he has shown in his career so far.

A few people are worried that he will catch the “Formula 1 disease” and lose his racing edge, opting for a safe 8 or 6 points instead of taking the sort of risky moves we have seen from him. More worryingly, Hamilton will have to take the chequered flag soon, otherwise the media will make him pay the price. The fact that Button took so long to win a race suffocated the man. Expectations were too high. The higher the expectations, the bigger the pressure and the worse the performance.

And as Clive James has pointed out, it could be even worse for Lewis Hamilton because he is black. So not only is he a sportsman who is expected to win. He is also expected to be a representative of an entire race.

But Hamilton, as a rookie, has had it relatively easy so far. His first three races happened in relative anonymity as far as the general public was concerned. Now, it seems, everybody knows about him. He has made history, being the first ever driver to finish on the podium in each of his first three races.

Yesterday morning Jackie Stewart moved the hype machine up a gear by saying that he could be the World Champion this year. He would be the first rookie to do so, apart from the very first World Champion back in 1950 (because they were all rookies).

In one sense, Jackie Stewart is absolutely right. What he said is really no more than a statement of fact. Lewis Hamilton could win the World Championship this year. I said so myself yesterday. But there is a difference between me and Jackie Stewart.

I am an arsehole with a blog. I have never raced a car in my life. The ultimate armchair enthuso-dick. Stewart, on the other hand, is one of the most respected observers of Formula 1 in the world, a triple World Champion who has seen decades of racing and knows what he is talking about.

As such, Jackie Stewart’s word is taken as gospel. And because he has said that Hamilton could win the championship this year (a statement of fact), people will now start to expect him to actually win the championship this year (a fanciful tabloid seller).

Jackie Stewart’s appearance on Today was just the first step, and by the end of the morning Matt Bishop, editor-in-chief of F1 Racing, was on Radio Five Live spouting the biggest load of crap I have ever heard about a driver who has only driven three grands prix.

F1 Racing is a good magazine, but it likes its hype and sensationalism. It’s a bit like the NME of motor racing publications. “Why Nico Rosberg will be world champion!” and “Robert Kubica is the best rookie since Alonso!” are two typical headlines you might see in F1 Racing. They said similar sorts of things about Fisichella and Trulli a decade ago.

This is made worse by the fact that Hamilton happens to be British, so everyone in the country will be interested. I can see the next cover in my head. “HAMILTON! The best driver the world has ever seen! And why he will be the first ever rookie champ!”

I can understand this sort of thing when it is designed to sell magazines. But Matt Bishop was there on Radio Five Live representing Formula 1. He is meant to be a level-headed expert. So what did he say?

He said that Hamilton has trounced his team-mate Alonso. Well, he beat Alonso in the last race, but was it a trouncing? It looked to me as though Alonso was just struggling on the soft tyres. He had a bad race in Bahrain. But in the other two races, Alonso beat Hamilton. At best, I would say Hamilton and Alonso look neck-and-neck.

But what Mr Bishop went on to say after that was even worse, almost unimaginable. He said that Hamilton is one of five or six drivers in Formula 1 history who have ever had this much talent. And then a minute later he even trotted out the names of people who Hamilton is meant to be as good as.

Lewis Hamilton is in the same chapter only as Juan Manuel Fangio, Jim Clark, Ayrton Senna, Michael Schumacher. And that’s it.

So, with a career that has lasted just three races, Lewis Hamilton is, according to Matt Bishop, at least the fifth-best driver the world has ever seen; the latest in a short list of Formula 1’s most legendary names. That is just an extraordinary thing to say. He hasn’t even won a race yet. Hamilton has looked impressive, but give him a chance! This is just going to create expectations that simply will not be met any time soon.

And, predictably, it just gets worse with ITV’s coverage. ITV have spent the past few years creaming their pants over the distinctly average Jenson Button. Now that a genuinely good British driver has arrived it is just one big Lewis Hamilton wank-fest.

As if the interviews with his brother (eh? What other sports give you interviews with a sportsperson’s brother?) weren’t bad enough, ITV even manage to spend their whole time talking about Lewis Hamilton even when they are interviewing other drivers.

Before the race at the weekend there was an interview with Robert Kubica where Louise Goodman actually said to him something along the lines of, “But you’re making the sort of mistakes that Lewis Hamilton should be making as a rookie — what do you think of him?”

And then after the race there was an interview with Alonso where the questions about Alonso’s race came across as a chore for Louise Goodman, who obviously couldn’t wait to say, “But Lewis Hamilton had a good race, didn’t he?” Alonso frowned and politely said “yes”, but if I was in his shoes I might have given her a punch.

And the British public will tune into the Spanish Grand Prix next month expecting to see something amazing. And Hamilton will now know what is expected. And he will be unable to deliver it.

Let us just remember the last time a rookie driver had such an impressive start to a career. Jacques Villeneuve came damn close to winning his first race in 1996. He came close to winning that championship. He went on to win the Championship in 1997. But after that, his career was so shoddy that it became just one big embarrassment to the entire concept of the 1997 World Drivers’ Championship.

Something tells me that the next issue of F1 Racing won’t have the headline, “LEWIS HAMILTON: The next Jacques Villeneuve!”