David Croft absent from Austrian GP as Sky Sports F1 commentator replaced
Sky Sports F1 lead commentator David Croft is absent from the Austrian Grand Prix this weekend with viewers set to hear the voice of Crofty's understudy instead
Sky Sports viewers will hear a less familiar voice on commentary at this weekend's Austrian Grand Prix. That is because, for the second time this year, usual lead broadcaster David Croft will not be in attendance at the Formula 1 race.
'Crofty' is part of the furniture at Sky Sports, having served as lead commentator ever since the broadcaster secured the rights to show F1 in the UK and Ireland in 2012. And for many years, he was ever-present at all races while the presenting and punditry team around him would rotate.
But these days the F1 calendar is larger than ever with 24 races per season. And so, in 2024, Croft took the decision to miss three races in the season to recharge and spent more time with his family and has repeated that plan this year.
He sat out the Emilia Romagna, Austrian and Azerbaijan Grands Prix last season, and chose to skip the same trio of events this term. On each occasion, Harry Benjamin has been called up to fill in and he is behind the microphone again for this weekend's race in Spielberg.
Benjamin is less experienced in motorsport broadcasting but has been covering F1 for BBC Radio 5 Live since 2022. The year before, he was hired as the lead presenter for F1's support series including Formula 2, Formula 3 and the Porsche Supercup.
He debuted for Sky's F1 coverage at the 2023 Hungarian Grand Prix as they put on an alternative, kid-friendly broadcast of that event, in partnership with Formula One Management. Croft was still commentating on the main feed on that occasion, alongside long-time partner Martin Brundle.
But it was when Croft opted against a trip to Italy for the 2024 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix that Benjamin received his first call-up to commentate on Sky's main coverage. He returned for the Austria and Azerbaijan races that year and is set to complete the same trio this term.
That means this is Benjamin's second appearance of the year on the Sky feed, having already appeared at the Imola race in May. He is likely to return for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix ins September.
Croft said last year of his plans to take some breaks: "I'm not getting any younger. I've given up and sacrificed a lot for my career. I want to give a bit of time back to my family and not be on the other side of the world."
His decision to skip the Austria race means he will be able to spend more than a month at home in the UK since returning from the Canadian Grand Prix. His next appearance will be at Silverstone next weekend and he won't need to get on a plane again until the last week of July when he will head to the Belgian Grand Prix.
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