How the BBC’s F1 intro should look

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When BBC screen their first live F1 race in 13 years next March, what should the intro look like? Here’s an exceptionally good vision of it posted on Youtube by Roadworks TV – and yes, they have used The Chain…

I like it because:

1. It’s got “The Chain”
2. It’s not just focused on the British F1 drivers
3. There’s no eagles or roulette wheels or other pointless stuff like that

I found this on SofaF1. As Alex says:

The BBC should just put a cheque in the post. It feels totally on the money.

I agree – think it’s better than the four versions used by ITV-F1 from 1997-2008, videos of which you can see here (although I enjoyed thought their first two efforts).

Inevitably this excellent piece of work, on which someone has clearly invested many hours, will be taken down by FOM, so enjoy it while you can.

Found any other potential versions of the BBC’s F1 intro for 2009? Post them below…

More about BBC’s F1 coverage in 2009

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Keith Collantine
Lifelong motor sport fan Keith set up RaceFans in 2005 - when it was originally called F1 Fanatic. Having previously worked as a motoring...

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49 comments on “How the BBC’s F1 intro should look”

  1. Pretty cool, with the exception of Nicholas Hamilton. I know he’s an integral part of Lewis’s team, but he’s not someone who belongs in a montage that’ll be shown during every race Sunday.

    I do hope the real thing is cool.

  2. That is outstanding, I got goosebumps listening to The Chain again. As SofaF1 says the BBC should just mail a cheque for that one.

  3. The only criticism I would have is that there is a lot of Mclaren in there and not so much of everyone else. I am a Lewis fan but good well balanced coverage is what we really want and that starts with the intro.

  4. It’s pretty good, very professional looking (minus the incorrect font for Grand Prix, but that’s just pedantry!).

    However, I’d replace the fairly pointless shots of the women at the start and the one of Hamilton’s brother and use shots of drivers instead.

  5. Ok, it is pretty good, but…

    As with any other intro video for any race, I’m left with the feeling “I have seen this before”. Always the same sketch: some circuit shots, nice girls, start line, a bit of tension, winning driver.

    There has got to be something more creative and interesting.

  6. That video did show quite a lot of drivers but it was mainly Hamilton and his company (Nicole, Nicolas, McLaren etc) also I did not like those yellow things (whatever they are called)–otherwise its pretty good.

    I like this one more:

    http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=5tygBFBC81w&feature=related

    It has a better balance of drivers and things that happen on track. The only negative bit is that the Chain hasn’t been used. Tell me what you think of it Keith…I loved it personally.

    1. Thats fantastic as Murray would say goosebumps a plenty. Less Mclaren and Hamilton family please!!!!There are more than two temas in F1 (just).

  7. I think it’s a bit too confusing, the shots change way too fast. I prefer this one (though it’s also not perfect):

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Y_U1dIDtbA&NR=1

  8. Saw this last night and thought it was awesome!

  9. Oh please god no, not The Chain…..It’s old, it’s slow, has the most boring drums ever heard……

    Something with more pace and agression please. :)

    I know it is near Blasphemy what I am saying, but F1 is the best there is, the pinicle….it is fast and furious…and I hate to say it, but The Chain says 1970s to me……old and slow……

    Something like Prodigys Firestarter, or Fear Factory’s Farenheit 540000 with the vocals striped out…….

    Give it some Grrrrrr, some Arrrrgh!!!…..some WOW…..

    Not zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

    The rule should be thus, if the band performing the track don’t sweat out of pure effort (not through old age and beer bellies) then it should’nt be used, and The Chain can be played without even lifting the metaphorical finger.

    Something like this:

    http://video.google.co.uk/videosearch?q=fear+factory+farenheit&emb=0&aq=f#

    Turn it up loud, with lots of bass. :)

  10. The only thing I don’t like is the sound of the crowd. The clip should only include ‘The Chain’.

  11. Julia

    I must disagree. That Cardigans song is dire and isn’t it a bit unfair to have consecutive shots of Kubica crashing at Montreal in 2007 and the same man spinning off at Silverstone in 2008!?

    I think this little number would make a fine theme tune

    http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=aaVtjGfpmlo

  12. Yeah, I think that goes beyond beer belly though….lol. Looks like he has eaten several other people….

    Still , you can bet your butt HE sweats on stage. And not through old age.

    Just go an listen to The Chains drums again though…..just sooooooo dull…….

    It’s the sort of music my Grandad would say is “cool”…..maybe 20-30 years ago it was ok….but not now…..should still be rock, or heavy metal though….

    May as well bring Murray Walker back (which maybe would’nt be such a bad thing)…..

    Make you a deal, if we must have something from Last centuary, lets have Murray back, and ditch The Chain…. :)

  13. Stunning…..yep, they’ll have a hell of a job to match that at the Beeb ! No doubt it’d need tweeking a bit here and there. Agree that more drivers and different cars should be shown in positive situations.

    Otherwise……Far better than anything else I’ve seen.

  14. I think if the BBC guys don’t use the chain they should be put up against a wall and shot quite frankly… no crowd music over it either, and also some historic footage, much like the beebs intro from 1996:

    http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=Z1d_rxyblYk

    Why try and fix what aint broke!?

    Also, a bit off topic, but whoever does the rally coverage (Dave or whatever) they should seriously bring back the ‘duel’ into:

    http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=jUt5A-uWsow&feature=related

  15. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ISAdU0NweQM

    (I’m not serious, although a racer montage like the one in the end might make for a good intro).

  16. Vincent Altair
    30th November 2008, 17:22

    Hmmm, even though the actual montage was pretty boring – and Hamilton heavy it gave me goosebumps just seeing F1 and The Chain together again! :-)

  17. I’m way out of my league in creating this sort of stuff, so I bow down to those who can, but I used to like the fast moving grid slots (from Silverstone I think) that the BBC had laid underneath their graphics.

    Too many of the efforts on YouTube focus on crashes, which isn’t what the average F1 fans tunes in for.

  18. TommyBellingham
    30th November 2008, 18:13

    http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=gwv9iHHPL9Q

    This is my version, please tell me what you think :)

  19. If indeed this will be the BBC F1 Intro, I am really surprised. ITV being British Production House ended up being booed by one and all for the over-hype they created around Lewis, but at least they gave other teams and drivers good representation in their Intro – e.g. Alonso, Kubica, Vettel have been part of the intro sequence during the 2008 telecast of ITV.

    Is BBC under impression F1 is all about McLaren & Ferrari?? how about other teams and drivers. And what in world is Lewis’s current girlfriend doing in the intro?? Is this F1 intro or Hollywood romantic movie intro :-?.

    Very Shoddy job indeed

  20. Too Good – this wasn’t made by the BBC.

  21. Hi Keith

    Just an OffTopic quickee? Did you get my mail about that article proposal?

    Cheers

  22. Hamilton-centric

    Doesn’t bother me because the eventual (real) BBC intro will be too.

  23. These aren’t bad for home made video enthusiasts having a bit of fun (the original posted one is at least had some motion graphics in it), but overall the only thing I like about any of them is the inclusion of ‘the chain’. And at this rate, it’ll probably be worn out by the time Melbourne comes round.

    If BBC do decide to use ‘the chain’ I want it to be for the season opening show only. It’s that ‘too much of a good thing’ school of thought.

    I’ve with post #5 – I hope the BBCs creative thinktank will deliver something that at least gives us something we’re not expecting. ITV’s attempt was flash, but ridiculous.

  24. Anonymouse

    Just go an listen to The Chains drums again though…..just sooooooo dull…….

    It’s the sort of music my Grandad would say is “cool”…..maybe 20-30 years ago it was ok….but not now…..should still be rock, or heavy metal though….

    Mate, you just made me feel very old as The Chain is one of my favourite songs, ever :~)

    I think it works very well with F1 and I still play it during the intro to every F1 race I watch (the live version from the album The Dance).

    How can you slate Mick’s drumming ?
    The guy is a rock legend and if you ever get the chance to see him live then I’d recommend it as he beats the hell out of his drums in a way you wouldn’t believe, the noise & energy is amazing and he’s as good if not better than any other drummer I’ve seen.

    I doubt very much the BBC would go for some Fear Factory, it may scare off a few of the middle aged viewers :~)
    I can just imagine the look on my dad’s face if that blasted out of his TV on a Sunday afternoon, he used to escape to the shed when I played Nirvana as a teenager.

    I know it’s a bit obvious but I think Metallica’s Fuel is loud & energetic enough without being too scary for the radio 4 listeners who’d be watching.

  25. I agree, too much Hamilton & entourage – no Kubica, no Alonso, or the other winners from last year, Heikki and Vettel, and the other British driver was completely absent – apart from that, it’s pretty good.

    And I’ve heard the theme will be The Chain, so either look forward to it or get used to it..!

  26. Hi Beneboy

    Soz, did’nt mean to make ya feel old. I grew up with The Chain, and it Was perfect for its time…….I dunno, maybe I just see F1 as a forward moving sport, always changing, always inovating, always “new”……the BBC using an old tune to say “Look, its us from the old days again”, kind of screams nostalgia…as opposed to future….

    As for Metallica..here I will show my age (40-ish), as I first saw them live in 1984? or was it 85? at the Offenbach Stadthalle near Frankfurt Germany, back in the days just after Cliff Burton died, and before they could even fill a 2000 seat town hall in Germany….lol. Fuel would be a good one….not only fast and powerful but a sense of fun about it too.

    Tell ya one thing, IF the BBC do use The Chain, I hope they use it unmolested….if they try and Jazz it up with some awful techno music beat over it, I will scream until I turn blue…lol.

    Maybe commision Metallica to do a cover of The Chain…..I’d be up for that. :)

  27. Well I’m seeing Metallica in Manchester in February so if I get to see any of them I’ll ask, maybe they’ll be up for it :~)

    There’s a techno Chain remix used on an F1 intro video on Youtube:
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IwVVAr5UbHQ

    Careful, may have you reaching for the sick bag…

    I’d like the BBC to do a season preview show that could be a review of F1 history up to the end of last season, they could use The Chain in a retro theme for the start and then end the show with the new music for next season.

    Kind of a nod to the old days and an introduction to the new ones.

  28. They need more shots of Lewis Hamilton… :/

  29. OMFG! What a crock. I counted around 15 times they showed Hamilton even his girlfriend & his brother!!
    If this is the BBCs new intro, they forgot to put Hamiltons name on the title

  30. I think this is a great effort, however it’s far far too Lewis-centric for my liking – it seems virtually every other shot focuses on him or the McLaren team and the previous champions, Raikkonen and Alonso are given scant, if any, coverage. I hope the BBC’s real attempt will be more even-handed.

  31. Goosebumps!
    The Chain is F1

  32. Dane, take a chill pill. How many times does the word unofficial or mock-up need to be used? :-)

    I don’t know why you’re all so obsessed with the The Chain! (not here to debate its merits as a song, btw, just as an intro to F1). I’m Melbourne-based so only saw the BBC F1 stuff on YouTube recently and I have to tell you, I think the Chain is not the sort of music you want. Moby was great on this year’s ITV coverage, bit more 21st century. The Chain is slow and takes too long to work into its less than exciting rhythm.

    I reckon the Beeb should use the coverage with some signature British trip-hop style from Bristol or something. The Chain is old hat, let the past stay where it is. I think you’ll find that the BBC will think the same way, the last thing they want to do is whack the chain over a new style intro and have half the nation groan or go ***?!?! Times have moved on.

    Why I’m willing to write that much on something so tiny instead of, you know, working, is beyond me. :-D

  33. Somebody went to quite a lot of trouble to create this video – pity he kept the old audio :)

  34. If not BBC this needs to be intro into the new Formula One game. The chains with digital cars going by would send shivers down my spine.

  35. Jonesracing82
    1st December 2008, 6:51

    http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=rrRxFekjcgI
    tis one is my personal fav!
    channel 9 used it for the Adelaide GP of 1991!
    i literally just uploaded it it’s still processing!
    if the addy is diff to that i’ll post it here asap

  36. great video. ive started to collect the intros from during the years in a three-piece series, the first one is here;
    http://f1bloggen.se/2008/12/01/f1-sandningars-introvinjetter-fran-tv-del-13-2000-2009/
    mostly bbc and itv, but some others as well.
    second part is up, last part later today..

  37. By the way, this video’s now been updated with less Lewis:
    http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=Dtms1IppbPg

  38. Updated version uploaded today by the look of things: http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=Dtms1IppbPg

  39. They can show whatever they like on screen as long as the music is The Chain.

    Perhaps one of the things that they could have are face montages of previous champions like they used to do in the past.

  40. Captain Caveman
    2nd December 2008, 12:41

    For me it has to be the Chain, with a more upbeat intro (video). Overtaking moves, images of the cars moving parts,, accidents, tears of joy and tears of disappointment.

    Personally I hope the BBC take the same view as their news (in the main) and come across as driver and team neutral. This is for both the intro and their coverage.

  41. Hi there,

    it’s been a while since i commented, still recovering from the final lap at interlagos i think….

    first, yeah the vid is really nice, but to me it feels like a summary of last season, tather than an introduction to a race and getting the audience pumped up..

    the music is great, and effects are spot on, but i would suggest a little bit less of hamilton’s entourage and a bit more winning moments from kubica, alonso and Kimi.

    however excellent effort and a great vid. it just need a little more work on the content balance.

    it does feel like a sumary of Hamilton’s season.

    other drivers and teams played a big role as well,

    whatever happend to the rain as well some of hte nicest raving was on the wet.

    in the end, the final product looks and sounds good, but it would be great if they could do a different one with the same song and effects for every race.

    cheers

  42. Yeah I like the updated version – more varied.

  43. How do speeding Formula 1 cars manage to make a Fleetwood Mac song sound cool?

    Irony: if a YouTube intro was actually used in the broadcast.

  44. “3. There’s no eagles or roulette wheels or other pointless stuff like that”

    Ha ha ha

    I can’t access the video atm but if Nicole scherzinger is in the intro I will shoot myself..

  45. Sap, You’re going to wish you never wrote that….

  46. Y 2008 cars!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  47. send a letter to the bbc and see what they say

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