Brundle and Coulthard review and comparison

Murray Walker - "What's that? There's a BODY on the track!!!"

Review

It has to be said from one race that the Martin Brundle, David Coulthard partnership seems pretty solid. It was not without it problems at times Brundle just did not seem to keep up. The usually hawked eyes Brundle at first thought Vitaly Petrov was in third on the first lap when he was in fact in fourth and he also did not notice Michael Schumacher pitting. The nerves of David Coulthard were also apparent with lines such as "well what's going to be interesting though is er as we rejoin we've got Sebastian Vettel there, massive lead in that first lap!" He never did return to his first point and we never did find out what was going to be interesting. These are little points that will be ironed out in the Grands Prix to come. I personally felt that it was a good start and many of you agreed. Over 50% of you felt that Martin Brundle was "Really good" whilst in the same survey Martin Brundle was voted the favourite of James Allen, Murray Walker and Jonathan Legard with Murray drawing a close second. I think we have good times to come and a pairing that will last longer than a couple of seasons.

Comparison - Legard

Now a lot of the F1 fans did not like Legard and it is clear to see why when you take a look at some of his stunning lines such as "There is Glock in the red and white Toyota followed by Trulli in another red and white Toyota." Also those many times he made you rush back to the room from making a drink when he shouts "AND THAT'S HAMILTON..." followed by "...into the pits." Such unnecessary shouting caused the public to dislike him. But above all one of the reasons many disliked Legard was because of his blatant interrupting of the publics favourite, Brundle. in just 6 minutes of transcription I found 7 interruptions, that's more than one a minute! I only found one case of interrupting in the Brundle-Coulthard transcript of the same amount of time. When looking at the transcript of Legard I actually noticed how much Brundle actually spoke; almost more than Legard! Maybe this is because Brundle had to spend so much time explaining what was happening to him. Having said that Coulthard did not speak nearly enough during his first race although I will put that down to nerves. However, it was not all bad with Legard, he was very good at the loud, exciting bits (when he timed them correctly) and at first glance I would not say Brundle carries it off as well although at least he can time when to shout.

Comparison - Allen

One of the anomalies that appeared on the survey was that whilst most of you put Murray walker or Martin Brundle as your favourite it was James Allen who came out on top of the anonymous transcript section. This surprised me because I was never a fan of James Allen but apparently lines like "Turn up you volume, sound and enjoy as we... go... raciiiiiing" entertain the majority of F1 watchers. Allen was a decent commentator who knew when to shout but just made too many stupid comments. Although these stupid comments are sometimes what make a commentator; it never did legend Murray Walker any harm. I wonder whether the new partnership will be too clinical, too perfect? Whilst Brundle graces us with the odd funny such as "that will shake his fillings out,"

Comparison - Walker

Whilst we were on the subject of funny lines here is one for you:-

Murray Walker: "What's that? There's a BODY on the track!!!"

Co-commentator: "Um, I think that that is a piece of BODY-WORK, from someone's car."

I just cannot see moments like that with Martin Brundle and David Coulthard. Whilst I like both of them for their knowledge they never will be the partnership that Was Murray Walker and (ironically) Martin Brundle. That was my favourite pairing, the crazy passion from Murray Walker balanced by the calm, excellent insight from Martin Brundle.

In the end

Obviously it is early days and I see this partnership going down very well. They offer insight that means you do not have to be part of the F1 'hardcore' to enjoy it but at the same time keeping the 'hardcore" happy. In the words of Martin Brundle himself in his interview with F1 racing magazine (brilliant by the way) "that's why I'll talk about drag squares per speed, then in the next breath will be talking about how tyre graining is like using an eraser on a pencil line" This is what is brilliant and will go down well. It is also noticeable  that he and David Coulthard have a mutual respect which is apparent meaning neither steps on the others toes. Whilst this partnership is not quite Walker-Brundle it will still go down well in mine and other F1 fan' books.

What did you think of Martin Brundle and David Coulthard's debut?

Posted by Sean Russell - Follow him on twitter @SeanRussellF1.

Like us on Facebook! »

More F1 Posts »

• 2012 Spanish GP: Hamilton and that 31 lap stint!
• Williams F1 Fire: Photos and video from dramatic post race inferno
• Lewis Hamilton blasts the rest away with pole in Spain
• An absolutely mega F1 prize you can win with the Lotus F1 Team
• Remembering Roland Ratzenberger and Ayrton Senna
• 2012 Bahrain GP: Vettel returns to the top, and Rosberg escapes penalties
• Sebastian Vettel takes his first pole since 2011
• 2012 Chinese Grand Prix: Thrilling late overtaking and tyres falling off the cliff
• Nico Rosberg takes his first pole position ahead of Lewis Hamilton
• 2012 Malaysia GP: Sergio Perez 2nd in Malaysia – but does the race need to start earlier?

Last Comment Posted »

• Yeah I also agree! That is the reason I like the MotoGP pairing because those two are literally just like watching with some mates!
  by Sean@enterF1
  [ click here to read in full ]