David Croft and Martin Brundle are the voices of Formula 1 and thanks to Lewis Hamilton, they’ll be taking their commentary and analysis skills onto the big screen for this summer’s F1 film
Sky Sports commentator David Croft has revealed how Lewis Hamilton made sure that both he and Martin Brundle were given roles in the upcoming F1 film. Ferrari star Hamilton is a co-producer and consultant on the film which stars Brad Pitt and releases in cinemas on June 25.
The British seven-time world champion has been described as ‘instrumental’ by director Joseph Kosinski and if not for him, Croft and Brundle might not have been involved. The pair have become synonymous with Formula 1, with Croft having led commentary since 2006, working for both the BBC and Sky Sports, while ex-driver Brundle has provided analysis since 1997.
Their voices will be heard in the £240million film after Hamilton ‘endorsed’ them. “He [Hamilton] said, ‘If you want to make it authentic commentary, you need Martin and Crofty’. I really appreciated that,” Croft told the Times.
“Martin and I, we’ve done five or six sessions, including filming in a commentary box. Hopefully, it sounds as authentic as a normal commentary because they did allow Martin and I to veer off script and call it how we’d call it, which is great.”
Croft added: “He’s [Brundle] the expert, he’s the analyst, he’s the man that’s gone and driven cars and raced in these cars, and I’m the broadcaster, the journalist, who’s not afraid to go, right, ‘What do you mean by that?'”
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A section of Hamilton’s fan base still aren’t over what Croft said about the ex-Mercedes driver’s controversial defeat to Max Verstappen in December 2021 which decided that year’s championship. Hamilton would’ve won a record-breaking eighth world title, surpassing Michael Schumacher.
But Verstappen benefitted from a hotly-debated stewards decision, with Croft saying that ‘live sport’ and it can ‘go against you’. Some Hamilton fans haven’t forgiven him and he revealed that he still gets messages ‘on an almost daily basis’.
“We still remember it,” Croft reminded fans. “The rules weren’t followed. We know that, we’ve read the report. It’s not going to change. What can I say?
“Probably nothing, because whatever I do say, it’s going to be wrong. So I try and ignore it, to be fair. We all know what happened, but it isn’t going to change I’m afraid, Lewis Hamilton fans. You still contact us, on an almost daily basis, about Abu Dhabi 2021.”
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But it appears that Hamilton has a respect for Croft, who warned the 40-year-old that his move to Ferrari may not work out. “I have a theory that [team-mate Charles Leclerc] will win every battle, both in qualifying and in the race, against the seven-time world champion,” Croft said ahead of the season starting in March.
“Lewis is no rookie, but in recent years at Mercedes, he has lost motivation. He lost it precisely when he didn’t get that multi-year contract with the British team.”
That hasn’t proved to be the case, with Hamilton winning the Chinese Sprint race. However, neither Hamilton nor Leclerc have won a Grand Prix, something which they’ll be aiming to put right when F1 returns for this weekend’s Emilia Romagna Grand Prix at 2pm on Sunday.
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