Formula 1 broadcasting icon Murray Walker has explained why he thinks it's so important for races to be shown for free and without adverts.
The voice of F1 to many fans in the UK and around the globe, Walker is synonymous with the sport thanks to his lengthy commentary career - and he'll be joining Channel 4's extensive team to interview some of the sport's biggest names throughout the season.
"I find it very flattering to be asked, and I'm very conscious of the fact that Channel 4 are going to be providing free-to-air coverage of Formula 1," Murray told press including Digital Spy at Tuesday's launch event in central London.
"That's terribly important because that's where the big audience is, and I'm going to be doing special features, particularly talking to drivers like Jenson Button, Jolyon Palmer and so on.
"The important thing is that the British public is still gonna be able to watch Formula 1 on television, free of charge."
And Murray revealed that he sometimes felt the same frustrations as fans when commentating on live races which aired with commercial breaks during his time at ITV. Channel 4 has already promised fans that there won't be adverts during live racing.
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"I vividly remember when I was doing it with ITV, the frustration you had when something exciting was happening and you're told you've got to cut to a commercial," he recalled.
"They count you down - 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 - and then you have to stop talking.
"Once at the German Grand Prix, Mika Hakkinen was leading when the two-minute break occurred. The next lap, he blew up in front of the Mercedes-Benz grandstand and his place was taken by David Coulthard, who blew up on the next lap.
"So when the viewers left us, Mika Hakkinen was leading, Coulthard was second and [Jacques] Villeneuve was third - and when they came back, Villeneuve was leading with nothing to explain it!"
Murray, who celebrates his 93rd birthday later this year, joins a 13-strong team at Channel 4 fronted by Steve Jones and David Coulthard.
Commentator Ben Edwards also moves to Channel 4 with his old BBC F1 colleagues Eddie Jordan and Lee McKenzie, while a rotating lineup of past F1 race and test drivers including Mark Webber, Karun Chandhok, Susie Wolff, Alain Prost and Bruno Senna will provide expert analysis throughout the season.
Despite suggestions from key figures including F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone that the sport is "the worst it's ever been" in terms of competition, he feels that Channel 4 is coming into the sport at an interesting time.
"There is an enormous audience in Britain to watch Formula 1 - and you tell me any other sport that gets regular attendances at the venue of over 100,000 people," he said.
"I think Channel 4's coming into it at a very interesting and exciting time actually, because we're at the end of this situation before the formula changes in 2017.
"So we're gonna have a big opportunity to build up and get a chance at the audience, and then next year it's gonna change."
And would Murray ever be tempted to pick up the mic again at a grand prix?
"I'm certainly not going to be doing commentary, because people think you walk into the commentary box and just do it all out of the top of your head," he said.
"Well, you do do that, but you have to do an enormous amount of research, a gigantic amount.
"I've done one of the major interviews, which will be going out and I'm very much looking forward to doing the others because all the chaps in Formula 1 are good to talk to – interesting people who fought very hard to get to where they are – and it's nice to be able to talk to them."
Channel 4 is the new home of free-to-air Formula 1® in the UK, with live coverage of 10 grands prix this season, and comprehensive highlights of every race weekend. Visit www.channel4.com/F1 for more information.
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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