Bernie Collins

[Jasandjules]

Whatever sky are paying her, it is not enough.

She is a breath of fresh air and her knowledge is superb.

[Crudeoink]

+1 it's a shame she's not at every race.

[williamp]

Huge knowledge, and getting very good at getting this accross. Good book, too

[Sandpit Steve]

Yes Bernie is brilliant.

Also props to Ruth Buscombe, another former strategist who’s now working a similar role for F1TV.

It makes a big difference to the programme, to have someone with recent strategy experience explaining the details of what’s going on in the teams at various points during the weekend. Last race was especially good, with the various strategic elements at play and no safety car.

[Nickp82]

Totally agree

[Time4another]

Couldn't agree more. Gives great insights.

[Blib]

Yep. She's really on the ball. Her in-race strategy analysis adds another dimension to Sky's coverage.

[TheDoggingFather]

Didn't like her to begin with, but this year she's much more relaxed and comfortable in the role.

Definitely a worthy addition to the team.

[generationx]

Yes, brilliant. Her and Ant are both an excellent watch.

[shirt]

TheDoggingFather said:

Didn't like her to begin with, but this year she's much more relaxed and comfortable in the role.

Definitely a worthy addition to the team.

Agree, much more confidence and authority this year

[Longy00000]

Another plus 1 from me.
I liked her from the off and a worthy addition to the Sky F1 team unlike some others from the last couple of years.

[Diderot]

Agreed, absolutely fantastic addition to the team and her insight is a game changer. Also, for all those those Dads and Mums out there whose daughters maybe be watching, what a fantastic role model she is for women at the very highest level in the sport. Priceless.

[hammo19]

Another supporter here. Much much better than the one who wears combat gear and has a fake posh accent.

[hondajack85]

Haha it was painful a few minutes ago. Russell had a slight incident going to the grid and the female contingent were left to fend for themselves. No idea till Bernie bailed them out.

[spikyone]

TheDoggingFather said:

Didn't like her to begin with, but this year she's much more relaxed and comfortable in the role.

Definitely a worthy addition to the team.

She's always been very good, it's just that when she started it was obvious she wasn't used to being in the spotlight. Now she's become comfortable with that.

I think this could be a rare thing - a thread on PH where everyone agrees with each other

[iandc]

TheDoggingFather said:

Didn't like her to begin with, but this year she's much more relaxed and comfortable in the role.

Definitely a worthy addition to the team.

+1. I didn't think much to her to start with but today she was great. It helps that Shouty was not there as she was given plenty of air space and the other commentators were listening to what she said,

[coetzeeh]

Bernie is a great source of knowledge imho.

Difference of course she has actually worked in F1 and now adding value by sharing this knowledgewith us as opposed to journalists who have watched many races - you hear the same narrative from them every race.

Hope Bernie and Ant + Karun are more prominent in the future. You actually learn from their contributions.

[rdjohn]

All 3 add greatly to the show, I would also add Nico Rosberg

Ted used to be good but now seems to play the fool. Croft is the fool, Damon’s style is only slightly better than Di Resta’s. Martin is no longer at his best. Lazy B and Pinkham are unnecessary and Lee McKenzie is way better than Rachel Brooks at developing an open question that a driver can respond to.

Naomi Schiff is a good presenter and would probably be better at asking questions rather than offering opinions. Danica Patrick - well?

At least we can look forward to C4 coverage, this weekend

Edited by rdjohn on Monday 1st July 13:12

[PRO5T]

Did I see that Danica has been sacked by Sky Sports for some of her batst mental conspiracy theories?

[Zetec-S]

PRO5T said:

Did I see that Danica has been sacked by Sky Sports for some of her batst mental conspiracy theories?

Why would they sack her? I've seen it mentioned a few times, but when I tried looking briefly the only search results pointed at her own podcast. No idea quite what she's saying and certainly have no intention of listening, but surely it can't be that offensive otherwise it would generate more publicity?

FWIW she's slowly warming on me and I think she's improving in front of the camera and is starting to add more to the discussion. Initially it felt like Sky were just wheeling her out at Austin every year to shout random words into the camera... "F1 awesome", "yeah go USA", "Max yeah".... I think she's mellowed a bit now and actually strings together a more interesting insight into a driver's mentality.