Leading the Best: A chat with Stefano Domenicali, the remarkably youthful man at the top of Scuderia Ferrari [ Read It ]
In Pole Position: What makes Robert Kubica the hottest property in the paddock [ Read It ]
Vijay Mallya Makes Waves: And now that he is the boss, he will be a Force to be reckoned with [ Read It ]
The Strategy Game: You need more than a “cunning plan” to win a Grand Prix. Let’s do the maths with Renault’s Pat Symonds [ Read It ]
Taking Responsibility: Formula 1 now knows it will not survive without a responsible attitude to the environment. Team bosses explain how KERS helps it take a big step forward. [ Read It ]
This is great! Really like your blog James!
Great blog on Robert Kubica James. Im a huge fan of him and it was nice reading a detailed account of his humble beginnings. Im going to miss not have you and Martin Brundle commentating next year! 😦
You mean James, lol.
All jokes aside, hope you carry on with the blog in 09.
Great insight on Robert Kubica. Im also going to miss you next year 😦
hey james we’ll miss u so much i just hope they gonna entertain us like u did this year if we could do somz we could let u comment till u retire…..man u great
Cant wait for 09, just hope your commentating, it wouldnt be the same without you and Martin together on the mike. I already think you have Legendary Murray status, GP wouldnt be the same without your insightfull commentary.
Thanks for the great info, heres to 09, hopefully see you after the BBC theme tune has just been played again!
Great blog, please keep it up in 2009!
Hi James,
I’m originally from Australia and started watching F1 in 1997 when the race came to my home city of Melbourne. As I learned more and more about the sport I came to relish your pitlane reports, they were always very insightful and as much as I respect Ted Kravitz, your analysis was more comprehensive.
I always thought when you first took over the lead commentary role that you were trying to commentate in the style of Murray Walker but this soon changed and for the past 7 years you’ve provided an almost flawless account of every race. Any complaints people have about bias towards Hamilton, or Button for that matter, should be directed towards ITV rather than yourself as sometimes I’m sure there are certain things you have to say.
Now that I live in the UK it’s been great to get end to end coverage of the race without interruptions from Aussie TV presenters trying to recap the race in their own words! Only thing that really appeals to me about the BBC move is the absence of ad breaks!
Good luck in whatever you continue to do, I hope to bump into you at a race somewhere, someday.
James,
I’ve always liked your writing, especially your Friday form guides on the itv website.
As a commentator, I initially preferred you to Murray, however, as time passed the intelligent and insightful man who was brilliant as a pit lane reporter, as an academic, as a writer and as a journalist faded away and was replaced with a man who became nothing more than a cliché spouting cheerleader.
I am not so deluded as to think that this change was all down to yourself as I know that ITV had a responsibility to it’s sponsors to bring in viewers. I also know that casual fans love to hear about Hamilton and Button much more than they do about the nitty-gritty of the sport. I just feel that ITV hung you out and left yourself and Steve Rider in positions where you had to say a lot of what was said. This may not be true, but I think you were in the unfortunate position of being the messenger and not once did anyone from ITV do anything to publicly defend you or change the style of the show. So although my memories of James Allen the commentator are not very positive, I have seen enough through your writing and through your time in the pits to suggest that James Allen the man deserves a lot more respect than he receives. Just to show I mean that, I’m off to buy ‘The Edge of Greatness’
I hope you get a TV role where James Allen can be James Allen but unfortunately F1 at the BBC was never going to be an option as a lot of F1 fans see you as damaged goods. You’re a victim of some poor producing decisions and the fact that ITV’s coverage had commercial brakes.
This is my first visit to jamesallenonf1.com and I’m impressed. If we’re not going to hear you dulcet tones on the BBC F1 coverage next year then I hope we continue to see your font everywhere, and not just on this website.
Your commentary over the past years on ITV and your writings on the ITV F1 website have been informative, factual, insightful and, at time, frank!
Keep up the good work James.
Love the website, my first visit today and I’m impressed with the content.
I’m sorry that you wont be in the commentary box for the forthcoming season, its a great shame. Your regular commentary since USA ’01 has been great and your obvious enthusiasm for the sport has shone through.
Keep up the good work with the website, I look forward to reading your blogs from now on.
finally, i found a blog with a fresh perspective from an insider..Great work James
Great website!
Very informative – very interesting reading.
I check this site everyday now!
Pity you arent commentating anymore but I am really enjoying reading your articles – they are amongst the best on f1 with a unique perspective.
Cheers for that.