{"id":46874,"date":"2024-02-29T18:00:25","date_gmt":"2024-02-29T17:00:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.radiotimes.com\/?p=1998400"},"modified":"2024-02-29T18:19:37","modified_gmt":"2024-02-29T17:19:37","slug":"david-crofty-croft-on-taking-a-break-sacrifices-for-f1-and-commentary-lessons-learned","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/rss_feed\/david-crofty-croft-on-taking-a-break-sacrifices-for-f1-and-commentary-lessons-learned\/","title":{"rendered":"David \u2018Crofty\u2019 Croft on taking a break, sacrifices for F1 and commentary lessons learned"},"content":{"rendered":"

Sky F1 commentator David ‘Crofty’ Croft spoke exclusively to RadioTimes.com about his big break in F1 commentary and why now is the right time for a pause. <\/p>

By Michael Potts\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Thursday, 29 February 2024 at 17:00 PM<\/p>

\n\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t get duff racing at Silverstone \u2013 it\u2019s a really good track. You don\u2019t get duff racing at Austin. China, back on the calendar, love the Chinese circuit. It\u2019s a shame we don\u2019t go to Malaysia anymore, I used to love Malaysia as well.<\/p>\n

\u201cI love going to Australia, but I wouldn\u2019t say it\u2019s the best circuit for racing \u2013 even though they\u2019ve done their best with the limitations of the park. I love going to Monza, you get good qualifying. Canada is another one. Japan \u2013 love going to Suzuka.\u201d<\/p>\n

David \u2018Crofty\u2019 Croft has seen things. The Sky F1 commentator supreme, the ever-present voice of the sport, has seen the world, and much of what it has to offer, from lofty perches in commentary boxes across the planet. And he\u2019s back for more.<\/p>\n

In an exclusive chat with RadioTimes.com<\/a>, Crofty explains how a night out in Las Vegas led to his big break, the key lessons he has learned over nearly two decades and why he\u2019s taking a few weekends off duty in 2024.<\/p>\n

Recounting the origin story, he says: \u201cI was working for BBC [Radio] 5 Live and they needed a Formula 1 commentator, which I didn\u2019t know. In a bar in Vegas, my mate, who happened to be the producer of 5 Live F1, just said: \u2018You should be a commentator on F1!\u2019<\/p>\n

\u201cI went: \u2018You\u2019re drunk. Shut up.\u2019 And he went: \u2018No, no, seriously, you should.\u2019 He repeated it the next morning, saying to come and audition\u2026 so I did!<\/p>

\u201cI had to make up a lap of Monza off the top of my head. It was the weirdest thing. I kind of went back to the days when I used to ride my bike around as a wee small child and pretend that I was winning races and commentating kicking a football around the back garden, that sort of thing. I got the job, which was incredible.<\/p>\n

\u201c23rd December 2005 is when I became a Formula 1 commentator, and then spent the next three months learning as much as I could about a sport that I enjoyed, I\u2019d watched ever since I was a child, but I\u2019d never really, you know\u2026 I wouldn\u2019t say I was a proper F1 aficionado. I enjoyed it as a fan, but I wouldn\u2019t have watched every single race.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy first race was Bahrain 2006: Fernando Alonso won, Kimi R\u00e4ikk\u00f6nen had a crash in practice, and I thought I knew everything I needed to know. Then the lights went out.<\/p>\n

\"David\n<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture>\n<\/div>
Crofty on the finish line at Monaco in 2011.<\/span><\/figcaption> Getty Images<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n

\u201cAfter a few laps, I thought, \u2018Oh, I don\u2019t know enough about this at all.\u2019 And realised I was on a massive learning curve, which is still going on to this day \u2013 350 races later, still learning. That\u2019s the beauty of Formula 1. There\u2019s always something new, always something you\u2019re learning.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs the years have gone on, the love and the passion has grown, and I don\u2019t know what I\u2019d do without F1 these days. Did I ever think, when I started, that I\u2019d be still going strong in my 18th season? No. Did I hope so? Yes. Do I want to go on for another 18 years? Absolutely. Because I love it, it is brilliant, it\u2019s the best job in the world.\u201d<\/p>\n

Crofty reveals he will step back for a few races in 2024, but confirms he still has plenty of fuel in the tank.<\/p>\n

He says: \u201cI love what we do on Sky F1, I love the people that I work with, I\u2019ll take three races off this year \u2013 24 races is a lot in one season. I\u2019d quite like to sit down and watch it as a fan. That is not me saying I want to slow down and retire \u2013 far from it. I want to carry on for as long as I possibly can.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut I do think 24 races is a lot for one person to do, and also for my family to put up with as well. There\u2019s a bit of wanting to be with the family occasionally, too. You sacrifice a lot for this job and you get the rewards with it.<\/p>\n

\u201cI wouldn\u2019t do it any other way, but yeah, there\u2019ll be three races this year I\u2019m not going to do, and that\u2019s purely, purely just because I\u2019d quite like to watch it as a fan, take it all in and come back a bit more refreshed.<\/p>\n

\"David\n<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture>\n<\/div>
David Croft returns for 21 races in 2024.<\/span><\/figcaption> Getty Images<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve never struggled with [being away] because the phrase I use is \u2018vocation not vacation\u2019. This is the life I\u2019ve chosen, what I\u2019ve always wanted to do, and I will do my utmost to do the job as best I possibly can.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut you do miss a lot \u2013 you really do \u2013 but then you just have to make sure you\u2019re there for the family when you\u2019re back at home. I\u2019ve had 350 races and I\u2019ve missed one since I started in 2006, so this is going to be interesting.\u201d<\/p>\n

Asked how he has developed as a commentator across the course of those 350 races, Crofty says: \u201cI think \u2018Day 1 Crofty\u2019 might have stepped in and made more rash judgments than now, and would call something and say, \u2018This is this,\u2019 and then be corrected by the expert alongside. I\u2019d say trust in your experts, ask them the questions, let them show the world why they were the drivers and not you.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd always try to see all sides of a situation, as well. For instance, you could see a driver lock up, go into the barriers at the end of a straight and look like they\u2019ve got their braking all wrong and just made the worst mistake on the planet. And you go: \u2018That\u2019s awful! They shouldn\u2019t have done that!\u2019<\/p>\n

\u201cBut actually, it might be the brake-by-wire that\u2019s malfunctioned. And it might not be their fault at all; it could be technical, rather than driver brain fade.<\/p>\n

\u201cUntil you know that it is actually the driver that has locked up or come on the team radio to say that was my fault, don\u2019t make that judgement, don\u2019t blame someone when you haven\u2019t got proof that it\u2019s their fault.\u201d<\/p>\n