David 'Crofty' Croft has seen things. The Sky F1 commentator supreme, the ever-present voice of the sport, has seen the world, and much of what it has to offer, from lofty perches in commentary boxes across the planet. And he's back for more.
In an exclusive chat with RadioTimes.com, Crofty explains how a night out in Las Vegas led to his big break, the key lessons he has learned over nearly two decades and why he's taking a few weekends off duty in 2024.
Recounting the origin story, he says: "I was working for BBC [Radio] 5 Live and they needed a Formula 1 commentator, which I didn't know. In a bar in Vegas, my mate, who happened to be the producer of 5 Live F1, just said: 'You should be a commentator on F1!'
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"I went: 'You're drunk. Shut up.' And he went: 'No, no, seriously, you should.' He repeated it the next morning, saying to come and audition... so I did!
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"I had to make up a lap of Monza off the top of my head. It was the weirdest thing. I kind of went back to the days when I used to ride my bike around as a wee small child and pretend that I was winning races and commentating kicking a football around the back garden, that sort of thing. I got the job, which was incredible.
"23rd December 2005 is when I became a Formula 1 commentator, and then spent the next three months learning as much as I could about a sport that I enjoyed, I'd watched ever since I was a child, but I'd never really, you know... I wouldn't say I was a proper F1 aficionado. I enjoyed it as a fan, but I wouldn't have watched every single race.
"My first race was Bahrain 2006: Fernando Alonso won, Kimi Räikkönen had a crash in practice, and I thought I knew everything I needed to know. Then the lights went out.
"After a few laps, I thought, 'Oh, I don't know enough about this at all.' And realised I was on a massive learning curve, which is still going on to this day - 350 races later, still learning. That's the beauty of Formula 1. There's always something new, always something you're learning.
"As the years have gone on, the love and the passion has grown, and I don't know what I'd do without F1 these days. Did I ever think, when I started, that I'd be still going strong in my 18th season? No. Did I hope so? Yes. Do I want to go on for another 18 years? Absolutely. Because I love it, it is brilliant, it's the best job in the world."
Crofty reveals he will step back for a few races in 2024, but confirms he still has plenty of fuel in the tank.
He says: "I love what we do on Sky F1, I love the people that I work with, I'll take three races off this year – 24 races is a lot in one season. I'd quite like to sit down and watch it as a fan. That is not me saying I want to slow down and retire - far from it. I want to carry on for as long as I possibly can.
"But I do think 24 races is a lot for one person to do, and also for my family to put up with as well. There's a bit of wanting to be with the family occasionally, too. You sacrifice a lot for this job and you get the rewards with it.
"I wouldn't do it any other way, but yeah, there'll be three races this year I'm not going to do, and that's purely, purely just because I'd quite like to watch it as a fan, take it all in and come back a bit more refreshed.
"I've never struggled with [being away] because the phrase I use is 'vocation not vacation'. This is the life I've chosen, what I've always wanted to do, and I will do my utmost to do the job as best I possibly can.
"But you do miss a lot – you really do – but then you just have to make sure you're there for the family when you're back at home. I've had 350 races and I've missed one since I started in 2006, so this is going to be interesting."
Asked how he has developed as a commentator across the course of those 350 races, Crofty says: "I think 'Day 1 Crofty' might have stepped in and made more rash judgments than now, and would call something and say, 'This is this,' and then be corrected by the expert alongside. I'd say trust in your experts, ask them the questions, let them show the world why they were the drivers and not you.
"And always try to see all sides of a situation, as well. For instance, you could see a driver lock up, go into the barriers at the end of a straight and look like they've got their braking all wrong and just made the worst mistake on the planet. And you go: 'That's awful! They shouldn't have done that!'
"But actually, it might be the brake-by-wire that's malfunctioned. And it might not be their fault at all; it could be technical, rather than driver brain fade.
"Until you know that it is actually the driver that has locked up or come on the team radio to say that was my fault, don't make that judgement, don't blame someone when you haven't got proof that it's their fault."
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Of course, if you can think of an iconic Formula 1 moment since 2006, Crofty was there, live, narrating, sculpting his words to match the action. He was there as Lewis Hamilton clinched the title in 2008, Jenson Button won for Brawn in 2009 – both among Crofty's career highlights – but one moment will always stand above the rest.
"There was also this race in Abu Dhabi in 2021..." he begins. Such is the drama of that moment, that lap, that finale, even without specifically being questioned about it, it was only a matter of time before the duel in the desert reared up.
The most infamous, last-ditch safety car incident in F1 history saw Red Bull star Max Verstappen overtake Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton during the final lap of the race, of the entire 2021 season, to clinch his maiden world title - sparking scenes of delight, fury and general paddock pandemonium. All the while Crofty dictated events to the world outside.
"I'm not sure I'm going to forget that in a hurry. As moments go - and Lewis Hamilton fans, please take this in the spirit in which I say it, not that I was glad Lewis didn't win - as moments go, that last lap in Abu Dhabi 2021 is going to be difficult to repeat. That was a moment and a half.
"You're aware there's a lot of eyeballs and ears on you on this one. Ross Brawn told me that he was standing up in his living room watching, shouting at the TV. I said: 'Good, that's my job, as if I can get you to shout, I can get anyone to shout.'
"That's what I'm meant to be doing, that's the passion that we put in, because we want to see the passion come out again.
"What happened in Abu Dhabi, happened in Abu Dhabi. That will be one of the more unforgettable moments in a commentary box ever. You're in that moment, you're delivering the narration, as best you can, in that moment, to sum up as much as you possibly can, knowing what needs to happen and trying to keep the audience informed.
"The one thing I was aware of was that we might not just be broadcasting to F1 fans here. You know, there might be a lot of sports fans who don't necessarily know all the ins and outs.
"Going back to the guy who asked me to be a Formula 1 commentator, he gave me a brilliant piece of advice when I first started - just to keep it simple. Sometimes you've just got to keep it simple, which is kind of what we tried to do on that last lap.
"If it turns into an iconic piece of commentary, it turns into an iconic piece of commentary. At that moment, you're just trying to keep it simple, keep people informed, and just, you know, be in that moment with everybody from a neutral perspective.
"The joy of this job is that at this time of the year, you look forward to even more unforgettable moments coming your way. Nothing stands still. You don't have to reflect on the past all the time, because there's new stuff coming up all the time."
And with the new season just around the corner, Crofty will return to the box, verbal paintbrush at the ready, to illustrate the action in real-time once again.
As for who he expects to see win it all in 2024: "I suspect the Dutch guy could go quite well this year..."
The Greatest Track on Earth has been created by Sky Sports to celebrate the start of the F1 season. Sky is the home of F1 in the UK & Ireland as it brings fans 24 action-packed races from around the world with the first race weekend of the 2024 season live and exclusive on Sky Sports F1 & NOW from Thursday 29th February.
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