Formula 1's lead commentator David Croft (aka Crofty) has been calling the action at pretty much every grand prix since 2012 for Sky – and before that, as lead commentator for BBC Radio 5 Live.
His cry of "It's lights out, and away we go" is the sign that you're probably in for another Max Verstappen, Lando Norris or Oscar Piastri victory (or, occasionally, something a little less expected).
However, he won't be behind the mic at this weekend's Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, having decided to take a few races off this season.
Last year, Crofty took a break for three grands prix as he prepared for his wedding – the first time he'd missed any Formula 1 races in 17 years. The last one he missed before the 2024 season was the 2007 European Grand Prix, when his son was born.
As Crofty enjoys another break from the commentary box, here's why he's decided to step away from some races – as well as a quick profile of Harry Benjamin, his replacement.
Where's David Croft? Why isn't he commentating at the Formula 1 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix?
In February 2024, Croft confirmed he'd agreed with Sky that he'd be absent from three race weekends that year.
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The first was the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix in May, but he also skipped the Austrian Grand Prix in late June and sat out the Azerbaijan Grand Prix in September.
Croft missed the race in Baku following his wedding to fiancée Laura Bradley earlier that month. The couple tied the knot in the south of France, with Sky Sports F1 colleagues including Martin Brundle, Damon Hill, Natalie Pinkham, Karun Chandhok, Simon Lazenby, Bernie Collins, Anthony Davidson and Ted Kravitz in attendance.
It was confirmed earlier this year that Croft won't be commentating at every race in 2025 either.
Speaking to The Independent before the 2024 season, he explained that he decided to work a break into his schedule due to both the increasingly demanding Formula 1 calendar (which, at 24 race weekends, is the longest it's ever been) and a desire to spend more time with his loved ones.
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"It's more about keeping fresh for the whole season. I'm not getting any younger," said Croft, who's been working for national and international broadcasters for 27 years.
"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."
Croft also added that he's looking forward to watching as a fan and enjoying the coverage from home while he's off.
"Maybe I can learn something by not commentating on a race," he said. "I can spot a few things when I'm watching – I want to see what the viewer sees."
Speaking of the lengthy calendar, including gruelling triple-header weekends, Croft was among those who have called for Formula 1 to reconsider its end-of-year timetable in particular.
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"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," he said.
"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. But we'll see what 24 [races] is like. It’s uncharted territory. It will be a huge effort for everybody.
"If we have a close season on track, the adrenaline carries you along a little bit. If the title's wrapped up early, then it can be a bit 'another race, another race' so we'll see."
Who is Harry Benjamin, David Croft's Sky F1 commentary replacement?
Meet Harry Benjamin, who filled in for Crofty as Sky Sports F1's lead commentator during three races last year and who's returning to the broadcaster "a few times" in 2025.
Harry was appointed lead commentator for BBC Radio 5 Live (a position previously held by Croft) in the summer of 2023 and is a regular on the station's F1: Chequered Flag podcast.
His commentary clips have been used in the Netflix reality docuseries Drive to Survive, and he's previously been heard commentating on Formula 2, Formula 3 and the all-women's F1 Academy series during its debut season.
Harry is active on social media, where he previously shared a Toast of London-style insight into additional commentary recording for the latest season of Drive to Survive.
He also often shares interesting facts he discovers about the countries he visits on the F1 calendar during research. Did you know that there was a nuclear power plant in Austria that was built, but never went into operation, following a nationwide referendum on nuclear power?
Before becoming a sports broadcaster, Harry trained as an actor at RADA. With a long list of radio credits to his name, he's also performed at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and on the West End, and worked as a red carpet reporter.
Harry worked with Sky in the past, too, leading its F1 Juniors commentary stream and calling the action alongside young fans of the sport.
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During Friday's practice session at Imola, Harry was joined in the commentary box by Anthony Davidson, with insight from Bernie Collins. It's yet to be confirmed who will be alongside him for the remainder of the weekend.
Croft's primary co-commentator, Martin Brundle, doesn't attend every grand prix due to other commitments throughout the year.
During a Q&A in late 2023, Brundle confirmed that he is contracted to work at 16 grands prix (that's two-thirds of the 2024 schedule).
Jenson Button, Karun Chandhok and Nico Rosberg are among the former drivers who've also featured as co-commentators for Sky in recent years.
Kate (they/she) is a freelance writer, editor, digital editorial trainer and data technician who first joined Digital Spy as an overnight freelance sub-editor in January 2011, after studying a postgraduate diploma in journalism at Salford University while working part-time as a social researcher.
In July 2013, Kate joined the DS staff team as chief sub-editor and following six years as the site's managing editor, their role expanded to incorporate Hearst UK's entertainment portfolio (including Digital Spy and its sibling titles Best and Inside Soap) between late 2024 and early 2026.
Kate has worked as a writer and editor since 2006, with bylines syndicated across the Hearst network and at organisations including Metro. They started their career as a TV production runner for the BBC and contributed to various music websites, blogs and zines while based in Manchester.
During her time at DS, Kate has previously been a freelance sub-editor and chief sub-editor.
Kate's team at Digital Spy were proudly nominated in the Best Subbing/Production Team category at the BSME Talent Awards 2022. Over the years, she has contributed to coverage of many, many Prime Days and Black Friday/Cyber Monday, and was part of the team that launched the DS weekly TV newsletter in November 2019 – followed by the Top of the Shops e-commerce newsletter in May 2024.
Kate's screen passions include Taskmaster (their biggest career regret remains turning down the opportunity to visit the house), nature documentaries, and live sport (up there with the greatest of all soap operas although if asked to choose, it's Corrie… every time).
Her highlights while working at DS have included interviewing Stevie Nicks on the red carpet for her documentary In Your Dreams, sitting at a press roundtable with Formula 1 commentary icon Murray Walker, watching a life-sized LEGO car being driven around Silverstone, writing an album-by-album retrospective of Lady Gaga's genre-defying career for Living Legends, and raising awareness of receiving and understanding a late-in-life ADHD diagnosis through the lens of Bianca and Freddie's EastEnders storyline.
Upon remembering to log off the internet, Kate enjoys live theatre, dance and comedy, appreciating nature, baking (badly), tending a recently-rented allotment (equally badly) and pampering one very spoiled rescue cat named Jolene.
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