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Lewis Hamilton's F1 win and Top Gear

Lewis Hamilton with Top Gear driver The Stig
  • Posted at 2:01pm
  • 06 November 2008
  • by DavidButcher-RT
  • 4 comments

I felt sorry for Steve Rider after the Brazilian Grand Prix (2 November ITV1). It wasn't just that sport's blandest anchorman had the job of winding up 11 years of ITV's Formula One coverage as they handed the sport back to Rider's old employers, the BBC.

ITV's swansong had turned out to be the most nail-biting drivers' championship climax ever. (Lewis Hamilton had won it! No, wait, he'd blown it! No, he'd won it! On the last bend of the last race! Unbelievable!) As a result, they got a huge audience and went out on a high.

No, what made me feel sorry for Rider was that, as the nation absorbed the news of Hamilton's triumph, and Rider got reaction from Mark Blundell in the pouring Sao Paulo rain, someone at ITV must have buzzed in his ear, "Do the trail, Steve."

And our man with the helmet hair and glassy eyes did as he was told. Which meant that a moment of rare sporting history was jolted out of whack by Rider running through some upcoming Champions' League fixtures and then, almost surreally, urging us to tune in to European championship darts on ITV4. Darts? We've got the youngest F1 world champion ever and Steve's reminding us about the darts?

This wouldn't have happened in the old days. Imagine: "Some people are on the pitch. They think it's all over. It is now!… And can we remind you that coming up next Tuesday on BBC television, you can see the all-new What's My Line?"

Once the F1 coverage was over, car-minded viewers were counting the minutes until Top Gear, starting a new series over on BBC2. There had been anxiety that this juggernaut of the BBC2 schedules might have peaked, but it proved otherwise, and with a piece about juggernauts, as it happened.

The presenters had one of their elaborate contests in three lorries, during which Jeremy Clarkson amusingly set light to the trailer of his enormous Renault Magnum, while James May failed to do a hill start in his Scania, thus knocking over a grand piano placed behind it. Then they all drove very fast through walls. Childish, dangerous, wantonly destructive, and all the other things people who don't like TG accuse it of. And very funny.

Fan of Top Gear? Visit our dedicated TG section, for galleries, blogs, news and a chance to see your stunt ideas on the show.

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Comments

  • Posted on 03 December 2008
  • at 5:22pm
  • by Jools

ITV has had its day, F1 is back where it belongs, on the BBC with its ultra-slick sports coverage. The final race of this years Grand Prix had adverts after the first 20 seconds of the race and adverts not long after Lewis had triumphed. ITV had not scheduled the event properly and could't provide analysis of the race or a fitting climax to their coverage, with the above mentioned 'trail' being put out when all wanted was the champion and coverage of how he'd won the overall title. It'll be up to the BBC to offer us decent highlights of the season just gone. ITV have set a benchmark, i'm sure the BBC will exceed it.

  • Posted on 18 November 2008
  • at 6:15pm
  • by Paul

When is Lewis back on Top Gear?

  • Posted on 09 November 2008
  • at 5:35pm
  • by angel

Why, oh why, oh why, has the BBC decided to clash the last 15 minutes of the popular Antiques Roadshow with the first 15 minutes of Top Gear? Do they think that viewers of one won't like the other? Not so, my mum likes both and is very irate that the schedulers are making a pig's ear of things again. It's bad enough when they clash popular programmes against popular ITV or Channel 4 programmes but to clash with one of their own channels - daft.

  • Posted on 08 November 2008
  • at 4:34pm
  • by Lynda

Yes, sadly it all got a bit rushed for the final race. The end of ITV's coverage, the retirement of David Coulthard, Lewis nicking the win-none of it got the coverage it deserved, really-a real shame.

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