David Croft to miss F1 races as Sky Sports make huge commentator change | F1 | Sport
David Croft will miss three Grands Prix during the 2024 F1 season with the iconic Sky Sports F1 commentator ending a streak of 16 consecutive seasons without missing a race.
According to a report from The Independent, the voice of Sky Sports’ F1 coverage will be absent from the commentary booth for the weekend at Imola in May, as well as the Austrian Grand Prix and Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
‘Crofty’ will be replaced by Harry Benjamin as the lead commentator for those three weekends after successful work on the F1 Juniors broadcasts in 2023, as well as his BBC Radio 5 Live duties.
The reasoning given by Croft was to avoid fatigue and burnout. The 53-year-old is getting married this year and with a record-breaking 24-race calendar ahead of us, managing workloads will be an issue throughout the paddock.
Discussing his decision to step back from three races this season, Croft explained: “It’s more about keeping fresh for the whole season. I’m not getting any younger.
“I’ve given up and sacrificed a lot for my career. I want to give a bit of time back to my family and not be on the other side of the world. I’m getting married this year as well, so I’ve got a wedding to organise!
“But I also want to sit and watch a race at home. I want to enjoy it. Maybe I can learn something by not commentating on a race. I can spot a few things when I’m watching – I want to see what the viewer sees.”
Croft’s partner in the commentary booth, Martin Brundle, has also been benefitting from reduced commitments with Sky Sports with the likes of Nico Rosberg and Jenson Button among those who have filled in the co-commentator role in recent seasons.
Touching on the impact of the current 24-race schedule, Croft added: “The triple headers do take their toll, you can be pretty exhausted by the end of it. The one time-shift you could really do without is Vegas to Qatar.
“I’d like to see Vegas change its times a bit. A 12-hour shift in time zones – you can’t do more than that on this planet. Abu Dhabi last year was exhausting. I think that’s something which could be addressed.”
