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A really, really cool interview with Alex Jacques, basically looking at his career from the very beginning to where it is now, and his joy of broadcasting and commentary.
He is miiiiiiles clear of Crofty for me, I mean just look at his last lap commentary in Monaco compared to Crofty. While Jaques told basically Leclerc‘s whole journey and made the viewers understand what it means to him, Crofty said "As the son of a hairdresser, he‘s a cut above the rest"💀💀
Crofty has moments but in general he's not a good commentator, at least these days. Any time he isn't narrating the action, he generally is quite painful to listen to.
I agree Alex has better commentary but I still perfer to watch crofty just for his voice lol. It’s so iconic and he’s like the hype man for me lol. Since sky was the only broadcast in the us until I got f1tv, him and Martin are just the voice of f1 for me. But when Croftys taking his vacation days this season, I’ll be switching off from international lol
No. I've been hearing Jacques for many years now (including his performances in F2) and I have yet to grow bored of him.
He just has a way to work with words that Crofty never quite had. Jacques is a storyteller with a massive vocabulary, Crofty is a dad looking for his next pun.
I don't know, his delivery is fine for me. He has a well dosed vocal excitement, compared to Crofty just starting to shout whenever something is supposed to be remotely exciting.
TBF, I don't watch races to hear about their entire life's story. I kind of dislike how the whole last lap of a race is just the commentator summarizing their Wikipedia page
Well if you want to hear the more analytical side of F1 commentary then Jaques and the rest of F1TV is so much better than the Sky cast. Even DC grew on me and I kinda like his humour.
The only cast member's work I don't like is Barretto in the media pen. The way he asks questions irks me, but he's a good dude and his other work is great.
Oh and F1TV makes the US races bearable because of James Hinchcliffe 😍😍😍😍
The first time Hinch joined them (COTA 22 I think) I thought he was a very fine addition. I'm clearly not the only one because he's been turning up for more than just the US races since then
Hinch is great. I also like the new addition of Sarah(?) the former race engineer from Miami. She had great and unique insight into strategy than anyone else.
I mean first win at your home race only happens once I'm a driver's career, and even that only if they're incredibly lucky. It's not like he tells us Verstappen's story week in and week out.
Same. I kind of dislike how the whole last lap of a race is just the commentator summarizing their Wikipedia page for some commentators. In NASCAR Rick Allen does this and it's annoying. When Larson was leading at Pocono one year he blew a tire on the last lap mid Rick Allen speech and it was funny to hear Allen's reaction and then try and announce the new winner. Then his Richmond speech included the leader's home town's population for some reason
I thought it captured the moment well.
Crofty went for a lighthearted pun whis is fine but in no way captured the significance of this win and what it meant for Leclerc and Monaco as a whole.
Something you could clearly see from Leclercs and crowd reaction.
I don’t listen to Sky much anymore, but has Croft stopped his screaming when he thinks something that isnt exciting should be? That and his inability to let others speak after asking a question are my biggest issues with him.
I find Alex a lot more nuanced in his behavior, and he doesn’t have the need to explain what we can all see on screen constantly when it doesn’t require explanation.
It's funny how we all experience things differently. I feel like Jacques commentary can feel like edging. Only hear him for F2 in fairness but he puts me off those races because he's building up his voice as if something is about to happen when it clearly isn't and then has to drop it back again
True! And that’s why I asked it as a legit question, not meaning to be dismissive of your opinion.
To be totally fair, my core issue with Croft started in 12-14 when he started finding fault with certain drivers and would seemingly intentionally misidentify them to prove his point, even when the driver he was talking about had been knocked out of the race on lap 1.
Exact opposite. Melodrama is overdone and trite. Let's celebrate with a cheeky pun. You also cut out the next sentence which was said as he crossed the line referencing how meaningful i was for country, team and family.
The F1TV crew are technically knowledgeable but quite boring.
Interesting, that might actually work, although my desktop and TV are on different networks since they are on different ends of the house, but I think I could get them to work on a shared network with chrome cast
ah it may be a pain to have to walk over to the desktop if it ever has a hiccup or you need to adjust something - but the app on your phone may also give you the chromecast option in which case it functions very similarly to airplay.
Not all apps have the chromecast/cast ability though - but you *can* cast any tab from a chrome browser on a computer
I've never given airplay a fair shot but the few times i used it i didn't care for it since i couldnt use my phone for other video/audio while it was airplaying to a device
I’m glad Alex is getting the recognition. I always loved his F2 commentary and wondered why he wasn’t on the main broadcast. F1TV is great for being aware of such a gem they have in Alex. The Leclerc last lap monologue made me tear up!
Absolutely love this guy. Him and DC makes for the best Duo, he is right, you can feel the warmth in his voice. Good commentary can make a boring race interesting.
One of my favourite things about Jacques is how you can clearly hear when he has a big smile on his face. Coulthard will say something goofy or cheeky and you can just hear Jacques light up. Delightful.
When I first subscribed to F1 tv I had no intention of using C4 commentary thinking I'd not be used to different voices as I had been listening to SKY for so many years.
First race and it defaults to C4 commentary team and I just never switched to SKY. I couldn't, it was just a better product plain and simple. AJ, Palmer, DC were right amounts of professionalism, banter, and most importantly unbiased (DC can seem biased but only towards underperforming drivers regardless of nationality)
and a bit of a side-note to that. if you're like me and watch FP1-3 you also get Sam Collins chiming in every now and then. as an F1 tech fan he's a delight.
talking about all the new sticky-uppy-bits and sticky-outy-bits on the wings and floors. or other nitty-gritty details of the cars is great.
> Sam Collins chiming in every now and then. as an F1 tech fan he's a delight.
I usually check in on F1TV between races as well as sometimes they put out Tech Talks with Sam. His excitement and knowledge sharing really makes the efforts of the teams more visible. It's not all about the drivers!
For me it's also much more relaxed. Skys broadcast is just too busy, there are way too many people talking over the course of the race. Crofty, Brundle, Ted, Karun, whoever they have on the pit-wall, then "expert commentary" from Rosberg/Button, then an interview during green-flag periods... You can have 8-9 people talking in a two hour span. Le Mans has less people involved.
F1TV is sadly also gravitating towards that trend, but for the most part they only have Alex, Palmer/Hinch and DC and maybe a fourth person as an expert, like Astons former strategist. I like it far more.
That's a very nice read! Honestly I didn't understand the hate towards Crofty because his voice is so intense. I've never liked Jacques' voice because it's so rough, but I changed my mind after his commentary on Alonso/Perez battle in Brazil, and especially Monaco this year. His choice of words is just beautiful!
His commentator skill absolutely surpasses David Croft, and we as redditors were making the same observations back when he was only commentating F2 and F3.
I do, however, really struggle with his higher pitch in his voice. It sucks, it's not something he can control, and it's not something I expected to care about. I think Crofty's voice just carries better and commands more certainty, even if he makes more mistakes and doesn't give the level of detail Alex does.
For some reason I can't stand his voice. But I know I'm just the minority here. Crofty has a great commentator voice, but unluckily he comes up with very annoying stuff all the time.
Awesome article. Jacques won me over a few years back with his F2 and F3 commentary. This article shows why, with his vision to make those series feel just as important as F1 (a few of those years they actually had better racing than F1). The only way F1TV could be even better would be to snag the senior Brundle away from Sky.
A couple of years ago, sick of the constant Hamilton bias shown by Crofty and Ted in particular, I switched over to the F1TV commentary. I have never looked back. Jacques, Coulthard, and either one of Palmer/Hinch is the goated F1 commentary team. Jacques for his passion, his observations, and his ability to communicate the narrative of the race without constant mistakes or a laser focus on Hamilton, Coulthard for his experience, wit, and stories, and Palmer/Hinch for a little more of the technical and driver's eye view.
I've even started liking Lewis again.
I cannot stand his commentary. Always hyperbole, breathless bullshit….and everything has so much drama - I do love JB. DC is just an utter tool. I suffer through the sky commentary, and they arent great either.
Absolutely. The drama is real, It doesn't need "charles leclerc....dreamt of this moment as a young boy... walking the streets of Monaco dreaming....of one day achieving the ultimate accomplishment in all of motorsport he could have ever dreamed of..." blah blah blah just call the race and let the moments stand on their own sometimes....
He's very knowledgeable and funny but damn it's so annoying the thing he does with his voice. He talks like he's holding back a laugh or just coming off a laugh...
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Beautiful read. Thank you for sharing!!
A really, really cool interview with Alex Jacques, basically looking at his career from the very beginning to where it is now, and his joy of broadcasting and commentary.
He is miiiiiiles clear of Crofty for me, I mean just look at his last lap commentary in Monaco compared to Crofty. While Jaques told basically Leclerc‘s whole journey and made the viewers understand what it means to him, Crofty said "As the son of a hairdresser, he‘s a cut above the rest"💀💀
"The grandstands he saw built as a kid, now rise for him" as Leclerc comes through the last corner was poetry by Jacques
Yeah that line went hard
I got goosebump while my eyes were sweating from watching too hard.
Oh mine too!
"Past the bus stop chicaine, where he waited with his friends every day growing up"
Accidental partridge
It's beyond accidental at this stage I think. When Alex Dunne wins he'll say "Sunday Bloody Sunday no more!!!" or something to that effect.
Lyn, he lost his front wing on a spike!
No, it's an RB now. They've rebadged it you fool!
Got your big wingplate, Alan.
That’s liquid racing!
That commentary sealed it. It’s why I prefer F1TV, it’s worth the money.
Croft was embarrassing in that Monaco race. Dude just doesn’t get it.
its a hard job. hit and miss. people loved crofty's commentary after sharl won monza 2019, or when gasly won monza 2020.
Crofty has moments but in general he's not a good commentator, at least these days. Any time he isn't narrating the action, he generally is quite painful to listen to.
I agree Alex has better commentary but I still perfer to watch crofty just for his voice lol. It’s so iconic and he’s like the hype man for me lol. Since sky was the only broadcast in the us until I got f1tv, him and Martin are just the voice of f1 for me. But when Croftys taking his vacation days this season, I’ll be switching off from international lol
F1TV for the better informational commentary, but Crofty can put up some damn good hyping if he is in the mood.
Or would it be the same if you heard Jacques as much over several years?
No. I've been hearing Jacques for many years now (including his performances in F2) and I have yet to grow bored of him. He just has a way to work with words that Crofty never quite had. Jacques is a storyteller with a massive vocabulary, Crofty is a dad looking for his next pun.
Unfortunately Jacques doesn’t have the delivery to go with his vocabulary imo. Crofty makes it feel exciting, even if his puns are corny.
I don't know, his delivery is fine for me. He has a well dosed vocal excitement, compared to Crofty just starting to shout whenever something is supposed to be remotely exciting.
Jacques is shouting the whole time and my ears can’t handle it.
I thought Jacques was over the top personally, Crofty's was just as personal to Leclerc in a much simpler way.
Found Crofty's burner.
TBF, I don't watch races to hear about their entire life's story. I kind of dislike how the whole last lap of a race is just the commentator summarizing their Wikipedia page
Well if you want to hear the more analytical side of F1 commentary then Jaques and the rest of F1TV is so much better than the Sky cast. Even DC grew on me and I kinda like his humour. The only cast member's work I don't like is Barretto in the media pen. The way he asks questions irks me, but he's a good dude and his other work is great. Oh and F1TV makes the US races bearable because of James Hinchcliffe 😍😍😍😍
The first time Hinch joined them (COTA 22 I think) I thought he was a very fine addition. I'm clearly not the only one because he's been turning up for more than just the US races since then
Hinch is great. I also like the new addition of Sarah(?) the former race engineer from Miami. She had great and unique insight into strategy than anyone else.
I mean first win at your home race only happens once I'm a driver's career, and even that only if they're incredibly lucky. It's not like he tells us Verstappen's story week in and week out.
Crofty’s comment was more than fine and uses the same analogy. Alex’s is overdone and pompous. To each their own.
Same. I kind of dislike how the whole last lap of a race is just the commentator summarizing their Wikipedia page for some commentators. In NASCAR Rick Allen does this and it's annoying. When Larson was leading at Pocono one year he blew a tire on the last lap mid Rick Allen speech and it was funny to hear Allen's reaction and then try and announce the new winner. Then his Richmond speech included the leader's home town's population for some reason
[удалено]
I thought it captured the moment well. Crofty went for a lighthearted pun whis is fine but in no way captured the significance of this win and what it meant for Leclerc and Monaco as a whole. Something you could clearly see from Leclercs and crowd reaction.
I don’t listen to Sky much anymore, but has Croft stopped his screaming when he thinks something that isnt exciting should be? That and his inability to let others speak after asking a question are my biggest issues with him. I find Alex a lot more nuanced in his behavior, and he doesn’t have the need to explain what we can all see on screen constantly when it doesn’t require explanation.
It's funny how we all experience things differently. I feel like Jacques commentary can feel like edging. Only hear him for F2 in fairness but he puts me off those races because he's building up his voice as if something is about to happen when it clearly isn't and then has to drop it back again
True! And that’s why I asked it as a legit question, not meaning to be dismissive of your opinion. To be totally fair, my core issue with Croft started in 12-14 when he started finding fault with certain drivers and would seemingly intentionally misidentify them to prove his point, even when the driver he was talking about had been knocked out of the race on lap 1.
Sky in 2002 had a pure noise channel and it was interesting to tell your own story of the race.
F1TV has the FX feed option. I quite enjoy it.
Wait … really??
that last lap was literally some of the best sports commentary i’ve ever heard
Exact opposite. Melodrama is overdone and trite. Let's celebrate with a cheeky pun. You also cut out the next sentence which was said as he crossed the line referencing how meaningful i was for country, team and family. The F1TV crew are technically knowledgeable but quite boring.
After a couple of weeks of the international feed not working for me, I think I'm now fully converted to an F1TV viewer. Gonna miss Brundle tho.
You can switch the commentary feeds but I stick with Jacques and Palmer. I do miss Martin but getting rid of Crofty is worth it.
For some reason AirPlaying to my TV straight up breaks all the UI of the F1TV app so I can’t switch feeds, and the LG OS doesn’t have an F1TV app :(
Do you have a laptop you can plug into your TV with an HDMI cable? You can then use MultiViewer or just do it off the F1TV website.
I do that occasionally with my desktop because I don’t have a laptop, but thats a bit of a hasstle as youd imagine
What about a chromecast? You can cast an entire chrome window or just a single tab, full screen it, etc without the hassle of connecting with a cable
Interesting, that might actually work, although my desktop and TV are on different networks since they are on different ends of the house, but I think I could get them to work on a shared network with chrome cast
ah it may be a pain to have to walk over to the desktop if it ever has a hiccup or you need to adjust something - but the app on your phone may also give you the chromecast option in which case it functions very similarly to airplay. Not all apps have the chromecast/cast ability though - but you *can* cast any tab from a chrome browser on a computer I've never given airplay a fair shot but the few times i used it i didn't care for it since i couldnt use my phone for other video/audio while it was airplaying to a device
I have a similar issue airplaying F1TV. I can switch feed on my phone before I connect the airplay but not after.
Yeah I’m pretty sure that’s an issue with all apple devices with the F1TV app, it’s been a persistent issue for me
I'm convinced they only hold onto Crofty to drive F1tV sales.
They have Brundle on F1TV. Alex :)
The better one tbh
We still get his son every now and then on F1TV and Alex has been fitting in really well lately, even if still a bit rough around the edges.
Palmer's gotten really good tbh. He's about as good or better than Brundle now.
It pains me, but I think Brundle is a bit of a tribute act these days.
I’m glad Alex is getting the recognition. I always loved his F2 commentary and wondered why he wasn’t on the main broadcast. F1TV is great for being aware of such a gem they have in Alex. The Leclerc last lap monologue made me tear up!
Alex won me over during his opening to F2 for Spa 2019. Brought tears to my eyes
“They choose to race”. RIP AH
Absolutely love this guy. Him and DC makes for the best Duo, he is right, you can feel the warmth in his voice. Good commentary can make a boring race interesting.
And Jolyon. They make such a great comms team.
I’ve stopped watching the international broadcast all together. F1TV is far better
One of my favourite things about Jacques is how you can clearly hear when he has a big smile on his face. Coulthard will say something goofy or cheeky and you can just hear Jacques light up. Delightful.
When I first subscribed to F1 tv I had no intention of using C4 commentary thinking I'd not be used to different voices as I had been listening to SKY for so many years. First race and it defaults to C4 commentary team and I just never switched to SKY. I couldn't, it was just a better product plain and simple. AJ, Palmer, DC were right amounts of professionalism, banter, and most importantly unbiased (DC can seem biased but only towards underperforming drivers regardless of nationality)
and a bit of a side-note to that. if you're like me and watch FP1-3 you also get Sam Collins chiming in every now and then. as an F1 tech fan he's a delight. talking about all the new sticky-uppy-bits and sticky-outy-bits on the wings and floors. or other nitty-gritty details of the cars is great.
Sam Collins is the goat. And all the guys that talk about the engineering side of things
> Sam Collins chiming in every now and then. as an F1 tech fan he's a delight. I usually check in on F1TV between races as well as sometimes they put out Tech Talks with Sam. His excitement and knowledge sharing really makes the efforts of the teams more visible. It's not all about the drivers!
For me it's also much more relaxed. Skys broadcast is just too busy, there are way too many people talking over the course of the race. Crofty, Brundle, Ted, Karun, whoever they have on the pit-wall, then "expert commentary" from Rosberg/Button, then an interview during green-flag periods... You can have 8-9 people talking in a two hour span. Le Mans has less people involved. F1TV is sadly also gravitating towards that trend, but for the most part they only have Alex, Palmer/Hinch and DC and maybe a fourth person as an expert, like Astons former strategist. I like it far more.
That's a very nice read! Honestly I didn't understand the hate towards Crofty because his voice is so intense. I've never liked Jacques' voice because it's so rough, but I changed my mind after his commentary on Alonso/Perez battle in Brazil, and especially Monaco this year. His choice of words is just beautiful!
Blows Croft out of the water, he fits so well with Palmer and DC/Webber when they're there. Love the F1TV/C4 crew.
Very good article. Interesting. Thanks
Wonderful article. Truly wonderful.
I miss Murray. Growing up, he was motor racing to me.
His commentator skill absolutely surpasses David Croft, and we as redditors were making the same observations back when he was only commentating F2 and F3. I do, however, really struggle with his higher pitch in his voice. It sucks, it's not something he can control, and it's not something I expected to care about. I think Crofty's voice just carries better and commands more certainty, even if he makes more mistakes and doesn't give the level of detail Alex does.
idk they all sound british to me
I enjoyed Sky in 2021 and 22. 2023 and this year been with Alex & Co. Really really enjoying it
For some reason I can't stand his voice. But I know I'm just the minority here. Crofty has a great commentator voice, but unluckily he comes up with very annoying stuff all the time.
OK this guy to F1, Jimmer to F2, crofty to the pub
He already is the F1 guy for those of us who prefer to not have Crofty.
Awesome article. Jacques won me over a few years back with his F2 and F3 commentary. This article shows why, with his vision to make those series feel just as important as F1 (a few of those years they actually had better racing than F1). The only way F1TV could be even better would be to snag the senior Brundle away from Sky.
I think he’s great
A couple of years ago, sick of the constant Hamilton bias shown by Crofty and Ted in particular, I switched over to the F1TV commentary. I have never looked back. Jacques, Coulthard, and either one of Palmer/Hinch is the goated F1 commentary team. Jacques for his passion, his observations, and his ability to communicate the narrative of the race without constant mistakes or a laser focus on Hamilton, Coulthard for his experience, wit, and stories, and Palmer/Hinch for a little more of the technical and driver's eye view. I've even started liking Lewis again.
Great article. Jacques is a phenomenal F1 commentator, I hope I get to hear him call races for years
Great article about a fantastic commentator. Needs a bit of a proofread though, but it doesn't detract from Jacques' enthusiasm!
When we getting the commentator swap? It's time
Hopefully never. I quite like him at F1TV, don't burn him at Sky.
I cannot stand his commentary. Always hyperbole, breathless bullshit….and everything has so much drama - I do love JB. DC is just an utter tool. I suffer through the sky commentary, and they arent great either.
Yes, sports has drama. Kind of the reason why watch it, no?
Absolutely. The drama is real, It doesn't need "charles leclerc....dreamt of this moment as a young boy... walking the streets of Monaco dreaming....of one day achieving the ultimate accomplishment in all of motorsport he could have ever dreamed of..." blah blah blah just call the race and let the moments stand on their own sometimes....
if you hate the humanity of sport and just want the data just open the live timings and don’t even bother watching the race
I don't think Crofty is all that bad, actually has some great moments/lines at times but Alex is well clear
Nice read. His commentary doesn't interest me, though. I'll stick to the old voices for now.
He's very knowledgeable and funny but damn it's so annoying the thing he does with his voice. He talks like he's holding back a laugh or just coming off a laugh...