Ted Kravitz: The TRUTH Behind The Red Bull Boycott & Paddock Politics
Road To Success with Benedict Fowler
Ted Kravitz: The TRUTH Behind The Red Bull Boycott & Paddock Politics
Annotations will appear as you listen
0:00
73:39
Car
GMC Typhoons
The GMC Typhoon is a powerful SUV that was made in the 1990s and is famous for being fast and fun to drive. It’s not your typical SUV because it can go really fast, which makes it special.
Concept
Formula One
Formula One is a top-level car racing series where teams compete in fast cars on different tracks around the world. It's known for exciting races and cutting-edge technology in the cars.
Car
Fiat 500
The Fiat 500 is a small car from Italy that's easy to drive and park. It's known for its cute design and is often seen in cities.
Brand
Ferrari
Ferrari is a famous car brand from Italy that makes fast and expensive sports cars. They are well-known for their success in car racing.
Concept
Monza
Monza is a famous racetrack in Italy where many car races, including Formula 1, take place. It's known for its high-speed layout.
Brand
McLaren
McLaren is a British car company that makes very fast sports cars and is also famous for its racing team in Formula 1.
Concept
lap time
Lap time is how long it takes a car to go around a racetrack once. It's important for understanding how fast a car is compared to others.
Concept
Baku
Baku is a city in Azerbaijan where a famous car race called the Baku Grand Prix takes place. It's known for being a tough track for drivers.
Car
Lotus Ford
Lotus Ford cars are race cars made by the Lotus company, using Ford engines. They are famous for their speed and advanced technology in racing.
Car
Williams Renault
Williams Renault is a racing team in Formula 1 that used engines made by Renault. They are known for their success in the sport during the 1990s.
Term
Nigel Mansell
Nigel Mansell is a famous British race car driver who won a championship in Formula 1. He was known for being very skilled and exciting to watch.
Term
Monaco Grand Prix
The Monaco Grand Prix is a famous car race that takes place in Monaco. It's known for being very difficult because of the tight streets and turns.
Term
Ayrton Senna
Ayrton Senna was a legendary race car driver from Brazil, famous for winning three championships in Formula 1. He is remembered for his amazing talent and exciting racing style.
Car
Chevrolet Spark
The Chevrolet Spark is a small and inexpensive car that is great for driving around the city. It's easy to park and saves you money on gas, which is why many people like it as their first car.
Term
yellow flag
A yellow flag is a signal used in racing to tell drivers to slow down because there's something dangerous on the track. It helps keep everyone safe during a race.
Term
grid penalty
A grid penalty means a driver has to start the race from a lower position than they qualified for. This can happen if they break rules during practice or qualifying.
Concept
Formula 1
Formula 1 is a top-level car racing series where teams and drivers compete in fast cars on special tracks. It's very popular and has a long history.
Car
Yuki Tsunoda
Yuki Tsunoda is a young race car driver from Japan who competes in Formula One for the AlphaTauri team. He's known for his speed and skill on the track.
Concept
Abu Dhabi Grand Prix
The Abu Dhabi Grand Prix is a major Formula 1 race that takes place in the United Arab Emirates. It's often the last race of the season and has had some very exciting and controversial moments.
Concept
Michael Massey
Michael Massey was a key official in Formula 1 who made important decisions during races. His choices can greatly affect the outcome of a race, and he became well-known for his role in the 2021 season.
Concept
Charlie Whiting
Charlie Whiting was another important official in Formula 1 who helped make sure the races were fair and followed the rules. He was respected for his knowledge of the sport.
Concept
F1
F1 stands for Formula 1, which is a type of car racing that features very fast cars on special tracks. It's one of the most popular motorsport series in the world.
Term
V12 engine
A V12 engine has twelve cylinders that work together to produce power. It's known for being very smooth and powerful, often found in expensive sports cars and luxury vehicles.
LIVE
The Red Bull situation was that the Stafford Camp and Red Bull thought that I was saying
that it was them who had done anything wrong, which maybe I just wasn't clear enough by
saying that it was Michael Massey in the FIA who had not stuck to their rules.
Ted Kravitz!
Got some cheese?
The man with probably the most famous notebook in the world.
Welcome to the Race Notebook!
With over 20 years in Formula One to present your detailed insights,
Ooh slushy!
thoughts and reactions to one of the most complex sports in the world.
Oh, they touched!
Sat next to the current drivers in Eurofighter Typhoons upside down in the sky.
I don't recommend this, but uh...
Did you come up with the idea of Ted's notebook?
It wasn't my idea.
I don't even buy my own notebooks.
One word caused a team to be very angry.
What does that do to you, the aftermath of that?
Uh...
Ted Kravitz, the man with probably the most famous notebook in the world.
With over 20 years in Formula One, for many weekends of the year, you present your detailed
insights, thoughts and reactions to one of the most complex sports in the world.
But Ted, in your own words, who are you and what do you do?
Hello.
Nice to be here.
How are you?
I'm Mike.
I like the van.
We should probably explain a bit why we're here, because there is a story.
Who am I?
Uh...
I'm a pit lane reporter.
In Formula One.
In Formula One, yes.
Well, I mean, you know, that's my job, so I've written a book about it.
F1 Insider, notes from the pit lane, and yeah, we are here because when I couldn't be a pit
reporter in the pits, this is where I came and did my reporting.
Do you remember the lockdown notebooks?
No.
Ah, okay.
Well, I can understand that COVID was a difficult time for everybody.
Well, I wasn't trying to forget it.
I have to admit, I think trying to survive was compassing everything around me during
lockdown.
Okay.
It was the thing that captivated my addiction.
Well, that's good.
It was easy.
It was easy to miss.
So, when the Australian Grand Prix was cancelled in 2020, then we all came back to the UK having
been in Australia.
Formula One was off, and we at Sky Sports F1 had to pivot quite quickly to how we could
service our audience, who were all stuck at home, obviously, with a new way of working.
And so, I offered, as I talk about, I think in Chapter 18, I offered my producers a kind
of weakly roundup of what was going on, because there was still stuff happening in Formula
One.
Sebastian Vettel was announced that he was leaving Ferrari and joining Aston Martin,
and Coloss Sainz was on the move as well.
And I came here to the only place that we were allowed to do.
Do you remember there was the daily exercise?
You were allowed to do some one hour of daily exercise.
Because of social distancing, I had to be my own cameraman.
So, I had to hold Noley or Pete, I had to hold a camera on the end of a selfie stick
and just be my own cameraman.
And happily, some people watched it and found it interesting, which I'm very grateful for.
And I did it around this park, just off Caledonian Road in Northampton.
And that's why we're here.
And what would your notes be on?
So, I started right over there, and there was a Fiat 500 in Italian colours with an
Italian stripe down the side.
And I thought, great, that is an opportunity to do the Sebastian Vettel story.
So, you're always kind of looking for bits that you can use, bits that are round.
I do that in the pit lane every day.
You use opportunities if you see something happening or there's a big crowd, you'll start
and say, oh, you know, they're here to see Ferrari or they're here if it's a Monza or,
you know, there's only one show in town or McLaren the Quick is, you know, the most popular team
here in Austin or wherever it is.
So, yeah, you always use what's around you.
So, it wouldn't have been about anything really.
Very quickly, some Igor Eye viewers of Road to Success may notice this week that we are
missing one of our normal camera angles that looks across at the guest taking the main
part of the face.
We've still got the side camera angle and this has worked really well for this episode.
We actually managed to somehow delete two main camera angles.
They just went missing from the episode.
But Toby has done a fantastic job, my lead editor, of recovering the footage of a deleted SD card.
We've gone above and beyond this week.
I hope you still enjoy this episode.
I just wanted to clear up why that one camera angle is missing.
As much as you say, I'm just a pit lane reporter, there is so many.
If you write that in the centre of a page or a notebook, so many things that come off
that to make you good at doing what you do.
And many people in the world have to be told what to do as part of their jobs.
And then a set percentage of people are very creative.
And like you have to come up with so much stuff in real time on the go of like you
always been that way.
Like even at school, were you taking notes where you were creative?
Have you always been inside?
What's very kind of you say?
I mean, I think that school, I was always interested in numbers, even though I wasn't
particularly good at maths.
I think I talk about this in chapter two, where I found sort of comfort in numbers.
And I like to pre-internet.
This is a long time ago.
The internet didn't exist.
Because you came into F1 in 1996.
Yes, but this was growing up when I was in sort of 1990, something like that.
So when I was growing up, and I just thought, you know, I like to look at the
qualifying results and then I would build my own picture from the numbers and the
gaps and what had happened.
And that was the way that I really got into it.
So while I wasn't in terms of, you know, being sort of looking to be told if
relating to your question, what to do, that was what got me into it was some of
the process and the discipline, the numbers and everything.
So that's what I found interesting.
And I still do it to this day.
So I'll look at the numbers of a lap time or of a, there was a race.
I can't remember where I think it was in.
It was in Baku, which is quite a long circuit.
And everybody was winning almost one second, the whole field.
I think it was a practice session.
The quickest time was a one 29.1 and the slowest time was a one 30.1.
And I just looked at it and it made sense to me.
And I quite like that, that symmetry of those numbers.
So that's where that comes from knowledge over a long period of time.
Because the more times that you witness something, the more times you see something,
the more times it builds on our memory and we're able to make these little differences
and see things a lot easier than somebody else that's done it for the first time.
So if I take it back to your first memory of a race, what would that be?
What was your first significant memory of Formula One?
I mean, in the flesh, it was a, do you mean in the flesh or watching on TV?
Anything significant to you?
I think it's, I mean, I used to watch, you know, Grand Prix through the through the 1980s,
but in the flesh, I guess it was about 91-92 when we all, when I went down in the London Evening Standard,
which I think still exists as a free newspaper, but you had to buy it back then.
There was a voucher in the paper for a brand-touch race day with Lotus Formula One
and Johnny Herbert and Mika Hackland would be there.
And so I went down on the train and got to the track and I saw the transporters and they were
always gleaming and shiny and clean and these two, this one Lotus Ford got wheeled out the back
and I was like, whoa, what is this?
And Mika Hackland was hanging around, no one was bothering him because nobody really knew who he
was and Johnny Herbert was the star attraction. And I got, I went up to Mika Hackland and I was
like, you know, for an autograph and he just handed me this autograph card, which he hadn't signed.
He was just sitting on this box of tools, toolbox handing out autographs, unsigned
autograph cards. And I was like, oh, thank you very much. And then Johnny Herbert did a couple
laps in the Lotus Ford and the sound of that really, really hooked me.
So that was the first time that I realized this is really cool.
This was really cool. And then watching, I guess sort of that 1992 season with Nigel Mansell
doing a really great job for Williams Renault and then there was the Monaco Grand Prix where
he made a pit stop, came out behind it and Senna and Senna was always my idol.
And then I was jumping up and down on my sofa in the living room and I was, I thought, okay,
it's funny how game this formula won. This can really make people react this way,
you know, because it's making me react this way. It's very exciting. And so, yeah, by that time
I was well and truly hooked. But that precise moment, if I could put that Ted at that time
in the van opposite me now. And I told him that that entry, that passion, that spark,
could lead to be sat next to the current drivers in URFI to Typhoons upside down in the sky and
touring markets with the drivers understanding about their culture and local food and everything
else that's come from, as you call it, a pit lane reporter. What would that Ted say?
I'd probably say to myself, didn't you want to go into radio, which is what I was thinking of
at the time? Or didn't you want to go into journalism? How have you ended up here then?
Because that was what I thought I'd do. So even at a young age, I liked the immediacy,
the intimacy of radio, which is why I liked doing podcasts like this with good microphones.
And I was blessed with an okay voice. And I just liked the way radio connected you
with your listeners. And you didn't have to worry about shaving in the morning. You didn't have
to worry about ironing your shirts or what you wore. Because under us, no, I know. But
I can just claim it's a linen shirt. And that's the way it is. But I have just not ironed it.
But linen shirts do go like this. And I loved radio. I loved it. Between the ages of
nine and 14, I was just sort of addicted to radio, talk radio, music radio,
and thought this is what I want to do. And so, yeah, the young me would say, what about that job?
I thought you were going to try and get in radio. What are you doing in this?
So what do you even consider it? I know radio is so different to what you do now,
but it's also live. Yes, because in the race, it is, I am just out of vision. And I am
a box that comes up with three. Well, yeah, I mean, we don't, you know, I'm not in. I'm just
doing a lot of the time and I'm doing my reports. I'm looking elsewhere and I'm doing this and I'm
waving my hands about and people can't see it because it's in the middle of the race and you're
watching the main race feed. So it is a little bit, it's still like radio, which pleases me.
Sorry, you were going to ask a question. Has everything from your earliest days of starting
out there always been live? Because one of the first guests I actually ever recorded with was
Jake Humphrey. Oh, right. And Jake would talk about the enormous difference in pressure that he
experienced between kind of studio based work and live work and like how different the two were.
But have you only, was your first kind of knowledge, have you only really known live from
the beginning? Yes, I mean, we predominantly, yes, I mean, we mix it up. Obviously, I do lots of
recorded stuff and we do finally crafted features and we've done plenty of recorded programs,
review season review programs or Christmas programs or whatever stuff has been has been
recorded. But then there's a discipline and immediacy and actually a connection that you
make with your audience when you're live that I kind of, I kind of like. And I don't know whether
Jake said, but you do become a bit addicted to the sort of thrill of live, of live TV and Jake
was very good, good with that and had come from lots of recorded programs, both on kids TV and
then in football at BBC Sport. And then he would get nervous, we all get nervous, you get more
nervous when you're doing live TV. I think the moment you stop being nervous, you should probably
stop doing it because you can you feel like the pressure inside you like a pressure cooker
sometimes and there's so much going on around you. Or is that the moment that you tend to excel
in like for our sake? Yeah, I've seen some of the busiest times that you do the notebook is
in moments like when there's a team photo or someone's just one, the constructors championship
like Clarence Week. And like, is that the times where you almost feel like you excel the most
is when there's the most going on? Yeah, that's the time when you have to get it right and remember
to hit all of your all of your talking points. So that's that's the pressure in that in that
you you need to know what to start with. And you need to have thought about where you're going to
end, because that is the throwback to can't just finish what you're saying and saying Simon back
to you, although we do do that sometimes. It's best to kind of have a thought, have an arc around
to the end, which is that, you know, I don't know, Alex Halpern's brakes are on fire or something,
and you're going to have to you're going to have to make it that that that this is not a thought
that this is not the way that Williams wanted the weekend to start or something like that.
And then you need to have something to say in the middle, not outstay a welcome,
make keep it short, and, and get all the points across, you don't want the camera to go off and
think, Oh, I forgot to say that. And that's the pressure in in, I wouldn't say it's pressure
quicker, but that's the pressure in trying to get everything in. And when you do when you get
everything in, and you go fair, and you think, Oh, I managed to hit all my points, I got everything
across, then you're happy. Every single guest I have on this podcast has something in common
with you. We're all humans, we all get stressed. And sometimes we all just need to admit,
we need a little help. Over the 110 episodes, I've recorded a road to success. I've heard
so many stories of how my guests have had to overcome mental and physical challenges to get
to where they are today. I'd say stress is the number one thing I have to cope with on a day
to day basis, running multiple businesses and employing staff. But stress can sometimes for
myself and my guests be caused by financial burden. It can be caused by your heartbreak
or even workload. And you don't want it to manifest in the wrong way. You don't want to
take it out on loved ones or friends. In 2021, I hit the lowest point of my life. It was just after
I'd lost my dad to an unexpected heart attack. I'd lost my nan a few weeks later. And then
I'd been thrown into a huge amount of debt being a natural born problem solver. I identified that
I needed some therapy. I couldn't deal with this myself. I had to accept that I needed some help.
So I tried therapy for the first time and it's now become a tool that I use monthly all the way
up to this present day. And that's why I've decided to partner with better help for this video.
I'd say the biggest thing that I have learned from having therapy from someone that had never had it
before is I never expected the role a therapist has in your life compared to others we have in our
lives like parents and friends and partners. A therapist has absolutely no agenda other than to
open your mind. They don't take sides and I guarantee if you've never spoke to a professional
therapist before you'd have never spoke to anyone like it in your life. And on better
help there are many tools at your disposal to help you begin to feel better. For therapy you
don't need to have any clinical mental health issue like anxiety or depression but just think
of it as a tool for personal growth. It can help you better understand yourself cope with habits
and solve problems leading to both mental and emotional well-being. Now better help is on a
mission to help you start therapy as easy as possible. It's a platform where therapists
and their clients can communicate effectively. This helps you get the most out of therapy.
All you have to do is fill out a questionnaire on their site and you will match with a number
of therapists within a few days. There are thousands of reviews available on Trust Pilot for
you to go and read to show that better help is a platform that you can trust. So if you are struggling
and looking for some help I've left the link to better help in both the pinned comment and the
description of this video. I promise this could be one of the most important tabs of your life.
Thank you to Better Help for partnering with me on this video. Or it's the other side of
I wish I didn't say that right because you're live. The difference between what we're doing now
with the cameras and what you have to do and I appreciate live in the bit lane is if I said
something that was slightly off-piece to you we could edit it out in in in realative sense like
just chop that bit and we carry on with the video. No viewer other than me, you or Toby is the wiser
but on TV if you step across that line live there's no going back really is there. You tend not to
get near the line actually. I mean you'd be surprised that you tend to go to
to you know 85-90% and then you you tend never to go near the line for that for that reason really
and that's where I think that's where I think podcasts are good in that people feel a bit
more relaxed. Colour Science was talking recently about the you know the the ability of podcasts
to be able to to have the time to explore more you know more more subjects in depth and and
that's a nice thing to do and but but you will be able to tell when you watch us that if we're doing
something you know we'll make a broad reference to something that may or may not be controversial
and then we won't really go Pete first into it and the moment people here I don't know what the
controversy let's say there's a controversy over a front wing flexibility thing and all my favourite
chapter in your book chapter 20. Oh is that Abbey W21 yeah right well that was happening I mean at
the time so we didn't know you know at the time wow how contentious yeah of course not controversial
in the moment because everything's live everything's live and so we were trying to figure it out at
the time but no it's it's you you'll allude to the to the to the controversy but bear in mind
that we've also got people in areas you know saying you know I mean they don't need to say it
because we know we've discussed where the line is and we won't really go near it. You see one of my
late father's favourite sayings that he had that will never leave me and I genuinely use it pretty
much every day in my businesses in my life is Ben you can only keep some of the people happy
some of the time you can't keep all of the people happy all of the time do you have to kind of have
a degree of that with what you're doing because you're dealing with so many emotions so many teams
so many people but do you kind of have to have an acceptance in journalism and doing what you're
doing that sometimes some of them will be happy and sometimes some of them won't at remarks I suppose
so I mean your father was a wise man but I would I would say that I try to keep most of the people
happy all of the time and it's set out to upset anyone or yeah I mean everybody's incitled to
their own opinions and that's fine but I'd like those to be based on on the facts of what's of
what's actually happening and if someone wants to have an opinion based on something that they
don't really have any basis for then absolutely fine there's natural but but then I'm just at
least happy that I've stuck to what I know is true but do you have to have skin almost like a
rhinoceros to deal with maybe formula one drivers and the pressure they can put back on you at times
is it harder to deal with comments from like the drivers in the paddock than it is the general
audience the drivers all just come at it from from their point of view and I think about that and
understand that all the time um the team bosses as well you know it's they're all competitive
super competitive people and they're coming at it from their point of view so they want to put
their their case across and sometimes the best thing for a reporter to do is to think in those
terms in that mind and then put that as your first question because that will often elicit the best
response so uh I don't know what would it be um I land a Norris winning Monaco um I mean that
wasn't any really some contentious element to that but he was a bit sort of fed up with doing media
he just done the photo he didn't really want to do an interview and I and I could see that and I
just came up to him and I just thought you know what must it be to him he's just won the Monaco
Grand Prix he's a bit tired he's just done the photo with the team he doesn't really want to
do an interview he's already done him here's me with uh with the things so I put myself in his
head and I just thought what would he react well to um uh or Oscar Piastri coming off uh crashing
in Baku you know I thought he doesn't really want to answer questions about why did you crash why
did you crash in qualifying why did you crash in the race you know was that um a consequence of
the jumpstart so I put myself in his head and with Lando I said um Monaco you did it and a little
smile went on his lips and he was like yeah did it did it and then I knew I was I was all right and
I could ask you know about the strategy or whatever the boring question was next or whatever um and
with Oscar it was it was um I was going to do I had this idea last weekend after the Baku Nightmare
to do you know when you ring up some people and they say can I just take you through um
some security questions so uh what's your uh what's your middle name yeah uh what was the
name of your first pet what's your mother's name what's your maiden name exactly um not hard for me
because Kravitz is my mother's maiden name I use I use her name um and um anyone wants to try and
get through my security questions but I thought I had this idea uh to Oscar Piastri it was like
okay let's find out if we're talking to the real Oscar Piastri here so let's ask him the security
questions and once we've established to see where I'm going with this maybe not maybe this is a
terrible idea which is why I didn't use it in the end it's like okay I was going to start oh sorry
Mr. Piastri can I just take you through some security questions can I have your uh mother's maiden
name okay good okay the name of your first pet uh you know Fluffles okay great okay now I'm dealing
with the real you know I'm satisfied I'm dealing with a real Oscar Piastri who was driving that car
last week and I was going to see what he what he thought and then I thought to to go back to what
you're saying I just maybe I'll put myself in his head and maybe he might think oh yes all very clever
Kravitz but but you know to you that's a bit of a stiffness bit rude it was me driving and I just
made a mistake all right so so I decided not to do that so that's the way you try and mitigate any
kind of sensitivities by seeing it from their point of view do you sometimes think if I don't ask
them now if I leave them this time that'll make the next 20 times I ask them better how do you mean
in terms of what difficult if one potential moment right so let's just take max very angry max yeah
just a very angry max right and you think I could either make him angry up like or speak to him or
he doesn't want to do any me or right I can just back off not ask the question he was expecting me
to ask and get a slightly tamer max for the next 20 times I have it because you kind of had that
little bit of extra respect right well I always have there's no extra respect I always have
respect for everybody I not you and the other side but well it's just the job of of if I'm the
first person to get him and he's done something that my viewers would want to know some more
details about or an explanation for then you've got to go with that first you can find a different
way of asking it what was the one there was one where he was told to give a place back and then
he was angry about it there's a few of those right but then I wanted to go I would have
probably started with with you know why did why do you think your team felt that you what you
needed to give the place back was there a kind of gray area of the rules where you thought you were
okay because someone had clunked into you and then you clunked some or whatever whatever it was
you know is that something that that started all this and also with that so I'd probably start
from there and with you know the McLaren can you swap back and swap back that all started from a
slow pit stop and I'd quite so I might start with okay what was the what was the first point that
this happened and ease into it that way because then also you're looking at from their point of
view you know things that weird things that happen in formula one they always have a start point which
actually isn't that weird so whether it's having to give a place back and then there's some consequences
or whether there's slow pit stop and then you end up swapping the cars around or whether there's a
yellow flag and you go too fast over the yellow flag and get a 10-place grid penalty there's always
a little kernel first of all that I think is worth exploring and then if you do that logically
and always with respect then then you tend to get to the same place rather than just saying
why'd you do that there's drivers on the grid now that are I'd say more challenging than others to
speak to an interview and there's definitely been char drivers in the past that would have been
more challenging than others to speak to I'm thinking maybe Kimmy Reichenan over your time because
we don't always appreciate the full amount of time that people do things for unlike Fernando
Alonso has been doing it for a hundred years but we don't appreciate that full amount of time you've
been an F1 over 20 years now who who were the most difficult drivers and teams to kind of work with
over that period I mean again it comes back to just understanding who they are and and what they
react to so Michael Schumacher um what chapter is it I do Michael Michael Schumacher is in
chapter here we go uh eight um of F1 Insider where I talk about you know the the challenges of
of interviewing Michael Schumacher and he always realized that an interview with everyone from the
media wasn't going to make him or his car go quicker and so he had to get something out of it
and if you look at it that way all these drivers are very nice and giving us their time
because it's not something talking doing a two-minute interview with with any reporter
isn't going to get them a more lap time better lap time so it's it's you know they're doing it
because it's good for their teams with sponsors and everything uh and it makes them connect with
their public that's really why they're doing it we're just a sort of vessel to be used
from them to to put their point across to to everybody watching and and so Kimmy Michael
always demanded excellence from his from his questions or questioners uh and if you had thought
of a good well thought out question which engaged him and made him think and might give him some
insight into some competitors or some way that he could further it on track and that was always good
for Michael um Kimmy Reichenan people misunderstood because I think half the time people were trying
to get a one-word answer out of Kimmy Reichenan just to make it like a funny Kimmy Reichenan answer
um and that's not I never really like to play that game because I mean sometimes we had a feature
I can't remember what it what year it was which was um you know best answers with Kimmy Reichenan or
something and then we had this you know do do do do do interview gold with Kimmy Reichenan
it's like Kimmy do you think you can win this weekend yes do do do do do you know TV Gold with
Kimmy Reichenan so if you can ask a close question like that then you know Kimmy's going to give you
uh one one answer so you could go looking for that but if you went Kimmy was actually quite a
talkative guy it's what people don't realize and sometimes he'd give such long answers I think oh
how am I going to edit this you know it's not going to it's not going to fit in the in the
future I want this answer for um but you had to think about it and you had to get him engaged
and sometimes he'd see he'd more often than not be wearing sunglasses when you spoke to him
and sometimes he'd uh if he didn't think much of your question he'd kind of watch back with
some videos you'll see goes like that sort of puts his nose in the air and puts his chin up
and then goes I don't think so um but sometimes if he was engaged in your question
he'd just sort of stare at you behind those dark glasses and then sometimes he'd sort of
cock his head to the left and then he'd also answer but um you knew that then you got a good boar
and no actually that's wrong the boars were always I don't think much of your question
was uh was a kind of you know we still get some boars now again don't we yeah I think he was such
a kind of iceman creature that that no one is ever gonna and the videos go so viral to this day
for new fans but no one is ever gonna forget what he was like but what he was like at the core of
his brain is what a lot of Formula One drivers teams team principals and anyone within the
garages alike which is they are quite self-competitive at the end of the day every weekend a bit like
Oscar having a poor weekend he's competing with himself the next weekend you guys despite the
fact that you're so many of you are so humble but come and sit opposite me and talk but you've
done so many cool things and so many cool experiences and got to a really really cool position with
doing a piece of work that a lot of others would want to do are you ever self-critical after a race
like would you have come down on the plane on the plane on the way back do you think
that was good that was that was me at my best this weekend or do I was a bit I wish I'd done it that
way yeah quite so critical you quite level no every 10 minutes I'm so constantly so critical
that's the only way that's the only way you learn you have to watch back your pieces to see oh I
would have done that differently and done that differently oh maybe I should have said that there
because that's another thing I talk about in the last chapter actually when I say that very few
sports demand have such high demands of their participants than Formula One you expect to be
teams the media the fans expect drivers to be perfect every session every lap of every day of
every race and none of us really hit those perfection marks in our day-to-day present
accepted none of us hit perfection every day but we try to and and but when Formula One drivers
don't hit perfection it gets noticed by everybody all their teams are micro-analyzing all of their
laps and and the fans will see oh why did you know why was um Yuki Sonoda there or that far behind
Max or you know whatever um why was Carlos in front of Alex why was Ollie Berman in front of
Esteban or why haven't you Esteban rock on this weekend whatever it is it gets noticed and if you
don't notice your own performance then then you're not doing it right and you'll never improve and
you'll never have an idea the next time you do it as well so I've had so many ideas for the next
time I'll do something by watching something back and thinking ah I just didn't do that and if I'd
done that then that would have been better or I see you're holding a notebook there sometimes there'll
be uh something I forgot to do on a saturday that I can revisit on a sunday notebook which is useful
but you have to watch saturday back and then cross compare it to your notes and say
I forgot to do that so this is one of the first times it is the first time I've ever brought a
notebook into the back of this van I've even tried to write with the expense of a five pound pen from
wh smith's away because I didn't have one Ben's notebook on the front of it the reason I bought
this is I wanted it to trigger so many questions about one of the things that I love about what you
do I'm going to start with my first one which is do you remember your first notebook like did you
because next to when you see Ted Ted's notebook even if you ask chap gbt to write something it says
producer then creative did you come up with the idea of Ted's notebook does it say producer Ted
crevets it says next to notebook producer of Ted of notebook who me yes I thank heaven for that um
yes I mean it's the only thing that I have sort of you know complete control over well not complete
but um but nearly did you have that concept to do that do you think you know what this would be
really good to do that no because in uh chapter it's one of the penultimate ones which is called
Ted's notebook in here where I give the the all the details on um here we go it is chapter
18 Ted's notebook I give you the full uh details of what it was so it wasn't my idea it wasn't the
my idea for the format that it's in um uh and it wasn't my idea for the name and I don't even
buy my own notebooks so which one shall we go for first it started as a written column on the ITV
sport website from my then editor Simon Strang who said look there must be things that you write
in here that you don't get to put on TV why don't we not waste them you put them into a little
written column for the ITV website so I used to do that 500 words or so um and then I carried that on
from the BBC when I moved to the BBC but then the deputy editor Andrew Benson who's still on BBC
Radio 5's coverage a very good journalist said um we like that but um well how about doing a video
blog because it was getting harder and harder with the more races to actually get my copy into
him on time and he wanted it quite timely after the race and I was often at a back-to-back race
or whatever and he said look why don't you just why don't you just put it into a video blog and
we'll just record it after the race you can do it to camera I said okay fine and he said but
well I can't call it Ted's notebook so we'll call it um from the pit lane with Ted Kravitz
okay fine whatever so that was when it was a video blog so that was one of the first ones
I think was in Monza in 2009 2010 it was probably the first video one um and then uh developed
developed kept going keep going going and then when I joined Sky Sports F1 in 2012 um Martin
Turner who was the executive producer said I like your paddock ramble uh I'm gonna turn it into a
proper TV program so two parts 12 minutes each 24 minutes running time uh but I can't call it
from the pit lane with Ted Kravitz it's too long it barely won't even fit on a TV screen have you
got any other names um and uh I said oh how about um how about Ted's notebook he said oh Ted's
notebook great idea you know good name where'd you get that from not knowing that it was the
name of the original written column from 90 from 2001 till 2008 um so yeah so that's where
that's where it came from um but it's I mean it's yeah when you start making the notes in
the notebook over a weekend so everything that goes into there we only see it from the point
of the video beginning to the end um and your thoughts there but when does that notebook
actually come together uh Thursday well on the flight out I'll do some I'll make some notes of
things that I I want to start this by putting all the teams down and giving a gap for each
no no it'll just be random stuff um and then on a Thursday when all the driver interviews start
uh I'll just put you know hulk water it all goes in reverse order in the pit lane so Sal was always
first then it's Williams this is the order reversed from the constructors from the previous year
then Williams guys are next and then uh Racing Bulls and then Haas and then Alpine
then Aston Martin and then Mercedes and then Red Bull and then Ferrari and then McLaren
last in the day so you'll fill up the notebook with all of these things that the drivers had
said not only to you but also to other reporters which is gold because they're not on our cameras
a lot of the time we're not putting that out but it's still good information that people
might be interested in hopefully they'll be interested in and if I'm interested in that's
that's the point of how I sort of think about they people might be interested in and then um gets to
practice then I'll be thinking writing some ideas about bits that they want me to do before practice
some ideas some thoughts uh I'll read all the team previews and if there's a little line in there
about uh there was a line from Singapore recently where I think Carlos called it uh it's all about
being uncomfortable with the uncut being comfortable with the uncomfortable and I wrote that down on
my notebook I stole it and I used it at the green light on Sunday afternoon evening before the race
so I'll go back through my notebook and say uh that was a good line I'm going to reuse and
recycle like repurposing these lines can I repurpose that line for a minute so I think it's
a perfect entry into a note that I've got that I want to ask you about because being comfortable
with the uncomfortable I'd love to ask you something that must have been uncomfortable
which is from my favourite chapter of your book from everything that everybody has seen
one word and I don't want to go into the details to be fair because you must be like a driver getting
fed up after a race fed up with it but one word caused a team to be very angry with yourself
and sky sports and ultimately from the media's perspective began boycotting even doing interviews
with sky sports etc can I get into the actual emotion can I get into the actual emotion behind
you because what we see from you on camera is excitement with things that happen in the pit
lane sometimes shock from things that happen in the pit lane we don't see the other side
of the person and the thing that they have to deal with when the camera goes off so that
what does a situation like that when it happens and it kind of blows up one in one in 20 years
situation which if you go back to my dad's statement you can't keep everybody happy all
of the time but like what does that do to you the aftermath of that
well you'll have to read F1 Insider to find out what happened with all of that
what doesn't do that much to me I mean I work for sky sports I
they were very supportive I don't think what I said was a particularly rogue view at the time
I think it was clipped up out of context on social media but that happens that's something
that you have to deal with and that can create the snowball going down a hill that's why I ask it
because the actual view of me as a fan do you think obscured from the actual gravity of the
situation inside where you were no I think the the gravity wasn't particularly grave and I think
it was snowballed out of all proportion so it was just differences of opinion in terms of
of what they thought I was talking about versus what I was actually talking about do you think
if that was said at any weekend in the futures who years ahead referring back to a situation it
would have been a completely different outcome to what happened I think this is what the moment
I think it was just a miscommunication really I mean if you're asking specifically I think I was
saying that you know that that Lewis Hamilton should have won the if the rules of the FIA as
they were understood should have been applied then Lewis Hamilton should have won the Abu Dhabi 2021
Grand Prix which is not a rogue view and I was actually fascinated and learned about the previous
race director from Michael Massey when I was reading chapter 20 and it's Charlie Whiteing
yeah which actually put quite an interesting perspective on all that familiar I didn't
actually know prior to reading that about Charlie White yeah that was something that obviously that
situation as an F1 fan nearly every race if I we used to have these F1 Sundays we used to call it
Brown Food F1 Sunday it was a great chat with the lads where we were on a Sunday sit on the sofa
and we were only allowed turkey dinosaurs and chicken nuggets and anything that went in the
oven and we'd sit and watch the F1 but even in all the races after that we always spoke about that
infamous race it's actually really interesting that piece on Charlie Whiteing who's the previous
race yes before Michael Massey yes that is the first time I've had context added to a situation
that's changed my view on it okay for a long time yeah so Charlie Whiteing was a legend and
I'd encourage you to if anyone is same as you doesn't isn't familiar with Charlie Whiteing
go and go and have a look online and look at some videos that he used to do he's a very gentle man
but strong strong words softly spoken had the respect of everybody and
I mean you know we weren't sadly passed away a couple of years three years before
Abu Dhabi 21 I think he passed away in 2018 and yeah he would I mean I don't know what
he would have done he would have presumably followed the rule which was that after the
lapped cars are released to go around to join the end of the back of the pack then rule 48.12
says that the race will restart the following lap which was the rule that was unexpectedly not
followed by Michael Massey but I think we all know the the story it's in there the Abu Dhabi
is treated in there but I mean going back to your original question I think that the the the the
Red Bull situation was that the staff and camp and Red Bull thought that I was saying that it was
them who had done anything wrong which maybe I just wasn't clear enough by saying that it was
Michael Massey in the FIA who had not unusually not stuck to their rules and had
prevented Lewis being an eight-time world champion which had they stuck to their rules as
understood by everybody then Lewis Hamilton would have won the championship but they didn't
it's nothing to do with Red Bull so I think that was the element of the misunderstanding I
should have been more specific and said that it was the FIA Michael Massey but we all made the
mistakes and we all word things in ways that make sense to us but sometimes when they're
actually taking in my others it can be completely different I mean listen it's just the way these
things you know these things are clipped up I'm sure if they'd seen you know the thing it wasn't
actually that controversial thing hopefully understand where you're coming from with that
and it's great context but like what I want to understand is the bit that you don't see behind
the lens that actually helps us gain some context of how you deal with that because it's all part
of what you do is having to deal with that kind of stuff like after that's happened you think do
you think mentally right he's a bit angry at me at the minute he doesn't understand what happened
or they're a bit angry me do you go into I have to solve this problem mode like I should speak to
them should I wait a little bit of time let the dust blow over do you actively think about almost
the recovery of it a little bit as soon as something like that happens or do you just
let the course of time play out well it's quite bemused about the whole thing um uh so um no I
mean we had a chat we had a we had a discussions with with with red bull and I spoke to max about
it and we came to a amicable conclusion where I completely understood his point of view that
wasn't actually about what I said but about the social media pylons that happen I mean pile on
not a electricity pile on um that happened to to him and his friends and his family and I said
look I completely get that you know happens to the same to to to to everybody and he was saying
you know why do you have to go there and I said I wasn't I was just riffing on a on a on a block
idea for Brad Pitt's f1 movie um and so you know we had it out and we had a discussion and
we had it out if I say that now you're going to clip this out and people are going to say
oh Ted and Max had it out we had a friendly discussion about something and uh we understood
our opinions and then we've been I spoke to him last weekend I interviewed him last weekend so
to all my loyal listeners listening on Spotify, Apple and other streaming platforms I urge you
to do me a quick favor that you might not know that you could do you can actually follow if you're
listening on Spotify the Road to Success podcast and also rate it with how you feel these conversations
have been how they may have helped you or if you're just enjoying the one that you're listening to
today it really will help us if we're able to grow our streaming platforms beyond hundreds of
thousands of monthly listeners thank you so much for listening to this episode of the podcast and I
really hope to bring you some more inspirational guests soon. As someone that loves everything
that happens around Formula One and how individual moments have such a huge consequence sometimes
in Formula One just like that itself do you believe with your generalized view of everything
Formula One that Abu Dhabi 2021 was better or worse for Formula One in the position it's in now?
Was it better or worse for Formula One? Gosh well I take you back to the end of the Abu Dhabi
chapter and I would recommend that you all get this to actually read what I'd properly say and I
will put a link in the description and the bio to be able to go there but and I genuinely do mean
because I rarely do say this guys I genuinely do mean in chapter 20 and I don't read a lot of books
right there is an audio where I can read where I read it to you but I I flowed through chapter 20
so last night sat doing my research like I've never done before good so but because it because it
added so much that I wasn't aware of so the story in my head that makes me very happy thank you very
much so I put here F1 has never been more popular so it's difficult to judge to what extent the
events of that night in Abu Dhabi damaged the image and integrity of the sport
so let's think about that for a bit everyone has never been more popular has it no so
but people weren't happy with what the events of Abu Dhabi did to the integrity of the rules
and the way they were applied understandably but they're now implied in a better way I don't know
I suppose yeah oh would there still be a lot more no I mean we have wibbly wobbly if Abu Dhabi
hadn't have happened we had she was still in charge of that team I don't know we've had two
race directors since since then I think it's a bit a bit of a more conservative race direction
you look at how many red flags are thrown these days you know for leaves on track or something
but and then I end it where I say just like the other great stories that make up F1's fascinating
history though we shouldn't be afraid to talk about it and I think that's really what it comes
down to whether it's going back to your original question whether it's just you know teams wanting
to influence uh media people reporters journalists and that's what it's about it's about influence
trying to put their point across trying to defer any criticism minimize any negative
negativity around them which is all completely natural and understanding it's it's it's you
it's putting pressure on people they can do that that's just part of the game you have to
take that as understand it as part of the game but the moment we stop talking about things
and communicating and understanding people's point of views and just talking person to person
you know in a mature way the moment we stop doing that then we're really in trouble
and so that's what you always end up doing in any case in Formula One when someone's not happy
with what you said and and they'll always be and actually you'll always get to a better understanding
of that person or that team by having a subsequent discussion because you'll understand where they're
coming from when you messaged a family member loved one or maybe spoke to them in person and said
uh by the way I'm just about to get in a urethite a typhoon
right yes and go upside down in the sky in the air with one of the drivers that I ran on down the
pitch lane with occasionally for a piece to camera what's their reaction no well this was I was
actually on holiday in Suffolk at the time I think it was afterm and we've been doing going up to it
so there'd been some training and and and medical things so they all knew about that so but I fly
little planes for a hobby anyway um so they chose you were a great candidate yeah well they chose
me the producers they could have had anyone Simon Lazenby could have done it or Anthony or Karun
or um and you're only at first or Bernie or you know or Natalie or Rachel could have done it you
know there's no anyone could have done it um you there is another pilot I wasn't flying the plane
myself I was a group captain Billy Cooper who's the Conningsby station commander who very kindly
took me for a ride um and um and George Russell so they were doing it as as it was a part of
with the RAF and the Mercedes team to try and get more people into science technology engineering
and math STEM subjects and um it was a thing where they were going to take up George Russell and then
because he was going with um uh Lieutenant Commander Matt Bright Brighty who does the
urethite display uh or did it at the time uh he had to have a wingman who was my who was a
captain group captain bad Billy Cooper um and so then I went in the back but uh it was yeah it was
great because I had to fit in I mean probably would have been better for Anthony Davidson to do it
or Karun because they're racing drivers and they're racing driver size so I had to get the G
trousers on which actually stops you from passing out um and um I used to play rugby so I got sort
of rugby players thighs and and trying to get these G trousers on was actually the hardest thing of
of the whole sortie once I got these G trousers on and the helmet which fitted and then everything
was good from there so yeah that makes you think that you almost could forget the cameras are even
rolling because you just know I can't believe what is going on now do you ever step out of that
because there's an interesting shot in here in the pictures section um whereby I'll either put it on
that one overload where you can see that I'm on the helmet there is a tinted visor and then there
is a clear visor so there's the tinted visor and there's the clear visor so all throughout
it was a bright sunny day and that doesn't look a bit cloudy getting lifting off from uh taking
off from connings be there um so that the cameras could see that it was me and George obviously if
we go up there and we got the tinted visor down it's better for the sun glare but it could be
anyone yeah it could be Tom Cruise behind that you know that's why if you watch Top Gun he's always
got the visor up and then some of the enemies in the Sukkos or whatever the Migs have got their
visors down because you don't need to see the baddies eyes but you do need to see Tom Cruise's
eyes so you had to think about things that you'll be watching Top Gear in a completely different
light now Top Gun in a completely different light now um so you always have to think
and that's why when I'm doing any of these any of these stunts not I'm saying not that it was a
stunt I'm just saying these these things with drivers primary consideration is that you're
making a TV feature you're not up there to have a fun jolly around in a in a Eurofighter you're
there to to to make a TV feature to make a connection with George Russell to understand how
the G forces in a fighter plane feel so you can get something to like the the lateral G forces
a racing driver will then the up and down the vertical G forces that you're feeling that a
racing driver doesn't feel and then relating George back to that um George is quite tall
six foot one so he felt a bit of the blood coming out of his head which Alex Alban had as well on
a fighter jet he did but in the US um but then I'm a bit more stocky and so I didn't feel that at
all and then you're tensing yourself the G trousers are expanding forcing all the blood
back into your stomach and then back up to your head so so you're always thinking about the end
result which is the TV feature so we went supersonic that day I don't really even remember it but
you know but it was we're over the North Sea um and you think well I would have liked quite like
to enjoy that but but I was busy kind of making the bits that I knew I'd need for the TV feature
why I'm trying to get a little bit of that is you're so calm and logical I can see the way
that you think and professional is a great word to describe you that I'm trying to look for those
moments inside one of the most complex exciting and accelerating sports that even if I was interviewing
the Ted of 30 years ago sat opposite would make him go oh my god did I really fucking do that let's
no that wasn't me there's no way that that was me like do you get that come over you or do you
are you just kind of like this straight cut everything super professional you're letting
me feel guilty for not for not uh for not doing that but do you think that's why you do such a
job at one day uh no because I I mean I try to if you don't have that if you were just to go
through I think formula one and and say oh there's a car there's another car he want to race you
know you want a championship well done um then it'd be pretty boring for your viewer and so I try to
allow myself to get excited about the right time but like Murray Walker and chapters you know
two three four are kind of it's almost like a uh uh it's experiences with Murray Walker
and Martin Brundle in the commentary box so chapter three Murray and Martin show
chapter four is about her at 97 about Jack Vilna with Murray Walker again chapter five is Murray's
last season some of the chapters are a bit of a kind of you know memory memento of working with Murray
if you were he had gears he would go to in commentary David Croft has gears as well so if
you were to deliver everything at that sixth gear which was oh wow I don't believe what I'm saying
like frog it would be first 30 seconds um no that's when an overtake is and through goes Hamilton
you know if you were to do the whole race in fifth or sixth gear it would be exhausting for the viewer
so you can't do that the the trick is choosing or reminding or identifying the right time to give
that boyish or girlish uh that's a word uh childish excitement and so oh wow I can't believe I'm doing
this um you give that at the right time and it has much more impact than if you're just
core look tires oh wow look a car look how quickly he's going then people just won't live with you
through through that so it's yeah it's picking the moments right you know in a in a in a good way
every time I've um had someone from the world of f1 sit opposite me in the van and we've spoken
about the characters that are on the grid and around the grid for for me I always ask about
Martin Brundle and David Croft because the way you guys speak about Murray is how my generation view
Crofton and Marty Martin sat in the box yeah in that commentary because they are our Murray walk
you know the way that Crofton can speak so fast and stop and then Martin comes in it's like this
perfect duo of speaking that are knowing exactly who the other person is constantly
but why what made Murray so special to you guys um I firstly his voice sounded like an engine so
an incredible sort of god given voice that could actually go up there and it was exciting and it
was full of passion and and tone and he could come up um and then it was uh having the right
phrase at the right at the right moment this is almost unbelievable it was the the the way he would
slow it down sometimes and Crofty's very good at this as well and they said this is the big one
and not try and again bombard you with words and make it just exhausting because if you're sitting
at home on a sofa and you're just watching you know you want to be sort of taken on a little bit
of a journey don't you and Crofty and Martin do that and Murray was great at that um he was a
lovely man as well just to be around didn't tend to have a crossword about anybody and then when
somebody did do something it would disappoint him he was like oh well I don't believe you know he did
that it's like everyone was like oh well Murray you know so who would have thought
so there was an innocence to him as well which was which was very appealing do you think doing the
live commentary is one of the hardest jobs to do in formula one in terms of the present inside of
other than Brundle's gridwalk yeah I mean being a presenter I find quite difficult and I have
nothing but respect for Natalie Pinkham Simon Lazenby Rachel Brooks when when she presents
Georgie Thompson Georgie Angel who is one of the best presenters that I've worked with Steve
Ryder before in ITV in the ITV Jake Humphrey as well what they do is to remember all of their
lines and their short-term memory has to be absolutely brilliant and then the moment they
give that line and we go to a feature they can like that can go it's like a drag and drop of that
file into the trash because then they won't need to use that line anymore but it needs to be perfect
they need to remember it and say it perfectly and then get out commentators can't don't have to do
that commentators can explain what they mean they're not having to address the camera at the same time
I'm not having to do that I can write something down the camera is not on me I can read it out
which I do in the notebook I'd basically just read out what I've written you know it is much
harder being a presenter than a commentator that's not to say that the commentators don't
do a brilliant job so but for me it's harder to be a presenter so what is the hardest part
for you what is the hardest part of doing what you do well when they when they tell me to present
a program like really do I have to so I do this program now called paddock uncut on a Thursday
that we kind of restarted we used to do it and then we took a break from it and then we're back
doing it and it's a it's like a podcast so it's like what you do here but there are cameras and
it's being broadcast live and so last week I said to Anthony and Angie Davison and Jamie Chudwick
I said look don't worry about it you know it's like a pod we're just we're just filming it at the
same time you know it's okay and then Jamie's talk backpack failed halfway through and I was like oh
you know you're right she was like oh yeah I can't hear sorry you don't need to hear
she says well I need to be able to hear the interviews oh yeah you do okay can we just get
a different battery for for Jamie and so we disconnected her battery pack and then this
was all on TV so it's it's hard presenting a program getting it all done and then annoying
why fatigue is hard right and what I want to get into is over the 20 plus years that you've
been doing this yeah as you had a moment that's made you go maybe it's time for rugby maybe it
maybe I'll go to presenting rugby is there anything that's ever nearly removed you from
formula what fatigue is what fatigue in terms in terms of the amount of races the amount of
traveling everything or are you just like calm it's not it's not hard so you've never had a
toughest moment at the best moment it's not a hard I mean well I mean sure but but but it's
not no it's not in terms of the there's too many races or anything I could do six more races
so what is the hardest part of doing what gosh what's the one that makes you build such a simple
question I've never actually thought about it because if not if we don't add context right
context one of my favorite words is context yeah I think it's so powerful yeah of course and it
can change the outcome of anything we don't add context all the people listening and wondering
we'll think oh it's just well easy what Ted does though it's just like that stress that I get of
this and this and this in life is just you know that's just because I do what I do I know I'm
sure there is but I just hadn't thought about it really um I mean the best bit is when can I do
can I do the best bit first yeah um the best bit is when as a team uh of broadcast professionals
we hit on a story or there's something big happens and we all just step up and go for that story and
we get the I'm in the pits I get the interviews we need um the the analysts are humming you know
Anthony they're giving their their best reactions Anthony's going through everything on the skypad
our crew is going through everything on the sky pad hitting all of the marks explaining to the
viewers you know it feels like you're in a v12 engine and it's just running at a 12,000 rpm
and it's like the engine you can feel it the whole production lifts and you come off air and you're
like oh you know we got everything out there nobody went home or nobody um wanted for any
information we got it all out there things will come out in the next three or four days
we covered them all at the time that's so satisfying working as a team and I imagine it
must be as a driver when you win a race and you know that everybody in your team delivered their
maximum and they were perfect you were perfect in the car and you won the race and it's really
satisfying and that's where I can relate a little bit to racing drivers because that's
that's one of the best things um worst thing I don't know um uh I mean you know you get sort of
frustrations with race stoppages there was that practice session in las vegas year one where they
had to uh well down all the drain covers and we finally got going at 3 a.m that was a pretty
low point for everybody because we were already we were already you know a great time forever we
were already on on on uk time which was 10 hours it was already you know what we've done all the
podcasts over there we've done the worst times zone difference that's right and so we were
effectively on hawaii or guam time uh from gmt um and that those towers when we were just sitting
waiting for this practice session to start I thought oh this is a pretty low moment but but
then you know youth I think back to it um you know with with sort of fondness I mean COVID was a low
was a low moment for everybody um it was a tough moment you know and leaving Australia going back
and not knowing when we're ever going to get going again and then you could see this you know
so much suffering in all these places that we were going back to and you thought you know we
shouldn't be doing f1 is a is a bit of sports a bit of fun you know it's it's it's right that we
shouldn't be shouldn't be doing it but then going back returning to racing after COVID
in July of that year was a was a very positive moment given a lot of people that had a lot of
different opinions about whether that should be happening or not that occasionally would cause
clashes well I mean Lewis Hamilton and that first um which I write about in chapter 17 I think um
Lewis Hamilton came famously to the Australian Grand Prix and said I don't know what we're doing
here you know so many people in such a space when although there's all this COVID happening
in Europe and in Italy um yeah it's chapter 19 surviving driving is about that and Lewis said
somebody said to Lewis uh why are we here he said well cash is king you know implying that
as long as the financial wheels keep going then it doesn't matter if there's a worldwide pandemic
now he's proved to be absolutely right when the cash flow stopped the stop being racist stopped
happening then money stopped going to the teams because there wasn't any money coming in from
holding the race and the many teams almost folded you know because they just they had to keep paying
their staff they couldn't just lay the staff off all the costs were still going out the door
but they had no money coming in so it was a really tough time for everybody but no that was only
it was only um some people who thought that we shouldn't be there in the first place but Formula
1 reacted very quickly and um we shut down like everybody else so that was a tough time
do you work to live or live to work do you think you'll be doing this as long as you possibly
can because you love it um I don't I mean it's easy to get caught up in you know in the in the F1
bubble and lose and lose perspective so so I don't live to work um I I think it's dangerous in
Formula 1 you can become uh obsessed with being in the in the paddock you can't have a life outside
it you can't feel that you're happy outside it there are people who get um uh who sort of go
native in in a sense of of just of wanting to could could could could never leave the circus
you know they join the circus they just need to be part of the circus and maybe I was like that in
in my you know earlier in my younger days laser focus to recognize that and have perspective
then and just just see it in your own note I think it helps being a broadcaster in that you're not
winning or losing as a team you're not with a group of 60 65 men and women who are going out
and and fighting for for for race wins and championships and getting that that joy when
you win and that and that despair when you don't um because to us in TV that's what does it we don't
mind we don't mind yeah it makes no difference to me whether who wins or loses that's actually
really profound because we speak about this as youtubers this is like a different perspective
right but a lot of the content goes out on youtube and uh on youtube we have this thing
although I've put my phone in airplane oh there we go this is a great reference and every video you
put out it gets ranked as a as a place of your last 10 so obviously one is really good in fact
look who's number one look who's at the top there you're in Chandak so you get ranked between one
and ten and that is in a youtuber sense the same as a team when they're losing races and it can really
especially if you're uploading a lot and working really hard for something to have a huge impact
on the all I kind of emotional swings but it's really interesting dear like what you do is almost
in that sweet spot of you're just kind of an observer yeah and that's actually probably a
way of living a lot kind of much happier and yes intense life yeah I hope that explains why
you seem to have sort of concluded that I was a bit of an emotional flatline and
calm is what you say but um but yes within in that we genuinely and people think you know oh you
know you have your favorites you you you don't want this person to win or you're sad when that
person wins or you're happy when that person wins can you imagine how emotionally draining that would
be if you were constantly battling your own sort of personal feelings about about people winning
of 24 races and all of these going to Austin next we've got sprint races and we're you know
I would I would barely be able to do the job like I can do if I then had to factor in well try
to be a Ferrari fan yeah whether I'm whether I'm personally you know gutted about about a result
I said to my friend at the weekend I said being a Ferrari fan these days is the equivalent of
supporting Manchester United it seems like nothing but disappointment we'll turn it around at
some point around yeah good old Ferrari I mean there's now they're magic they're a magic team
and uh that's why you know I'm happy to that there's a Ferrari on the cover of my book because
there's nothing like them you know you still think I mean McLaren are celebrating 10 world
championships aren't they this this this week having come back from from Singapore uh second
only to Ferrari with 16 I mean you know they've still got another six constructors championships
to win until they're still on even on Ferrari's level so yeah I mean that I know what you mean
you talk about magic there and I just bring it back to my own personal I'm very lucky that I've
got to own quite a few crazy cars over my life and at the minute I have got on McLaren and
just seeing them win the constructors championship at the weekend it's amazing what Formula One
does do for like the true petrol head as well behind the wheel because you do now I look at that badge
and that badge pings back something into my eyes it's different to what it did
pre them win in this championship and I know they've got the heritage I know the history but
you get a sense of the guys that worked on this the current guys that worked on this were champions
were winners and and it does make quite a big difference I think to Formula One not just in
that perspective but in perspective of absolutely everybody that watches you through the lens of
the camera all reads the lines in your book interesting so Ted I'd like to conclude by
telling the audience that I will leave a link to the in the description feel but very nice
well thank you to several places that is available is it available to purchase yeah it is yes it's
on Amazon as part of their deals are doing it for half price at the moment so if you want a
reasonable gift for Christmas it's half price on Amazon at the moment if you want to support your
local bookstores then of course that's your choice and you can buy it for for the price it is but
it's it would be make a a suitable Christmas present if anybody you know who's interested in
F1 I hope people like it I mean it took it took a while to to write I put a lot of heart and soul
into it they haven't shied away I think with Abu Dhabi chapter as an example from anything
you know in noteworthy or controversial what's your favorite sentence in that book
that's probably the last one actually which is the point of being of calling it F1 insider
because was there nearly a point to call it Ted's notebook yeah but that's a tv program now so
there's kind of no point to calling it a book calling a book Ted's notebook but the the idea
about F1 insider is that everything I do is to make my viewers feel like F1 insiders so that's
the kind of play on and I only talked about it at the end so the last sentences I'll do my utmost
to bring the pit lane into your front room connect you with the drivers take you behind the scenes
and deliver as much access news gossip information and entertainment from the paddock as possible
come to think of it everything you need to be an F1 insider so that's the idea is that is that it's
that the play on the play of the title is actually that I'm making everybody
that watches and reads feel like an F1 insider and if I at least I can do that to whatever degree
then I'll be very happy well Ted thank you for giving some insider insight to the F1 insider today
in the back of my van in the middle of London I've never done a podcast in the middle of London
with the back doors in my van wide open in the cover up and so the first podcast I ever did
in the middle of London was actually with Gunther Steiner okay so there's been a few now here but
none quite like this thank you so much for joining me thank you back in my van studio
pleasure meeting you and if you enjoyed this episode today please make sure you hit that
like button don't forget to check if you're subscribed to Road to Success and of course
you're listening on Spotify or stream and make sure you follow our platforms too and we will see
you with two uploads a week very shortly
About this episode
Ted Kravitz shares his insights on the complexities of Formula One, discussing the recent Red Bull boycott and the politics within the paddock. With over 20 years of experience, he reflects on his journey as a pit lane reporter, the challenges of live broadcasting, and the importance of context in journalism. The conversation also touches on memorable moments in F1, the impact of the Abu Dhabi 2021 controversy, and the dynamics between drivers and media. Kravitz's anecdotes and experiences provide a fascinating look into the world of F1 reporting.
Original notes
Paid Partnership: Get 10% off your first monthly therapy with Better Help using the link below -https://betterhelp.com/roadtosuccessHe’s one of the most recognizable voices in Formula 1 — Sky Sports F1’s Ted Kravitz. From reporting trackside for over two decades, to the most famous notebook in motorsport, Ted opens up about passion, pressure, burnout, and what really happens behind the cameras.This is Ted Kravitz like you’ve never heard him before.Don’t forget to subscribe to our channel for more exciting content about your favourite shows and celebrities. Hit the bell icon to stay updated on all our latest episodes👍 Like, Comment, and Share this episode. Join our discussion in the comments section🔗 Follow Us:Instagram: @Roadtosuccessofficialpodcast@benedictfowlerContact: [email protected]
Road To Success with Benedict Fowler
Tweak Marketing
0:00
73:39