Sky has confessed one additional name will enter the commentary team ahead of the 2024 season, with no exits expected following concern over Danica Patrick’s future with the broadcast company.
Patrick made some controversial statements during the 2023 season, which was her third with Sky.
She suggested that racing was “not normal in a feminine mind”, which was strange given she herself is a former NASCAR driver. She came under scrutiny again when she shared images from a Republican rally with hats stating “I could sh*t a better president” and a stand selling “woke tears water”.
However, Sky has decided to honour its contract with Danica and wants her to continue in the role throughout the 2024 season.
As things stand, Sky has a huge team of broadcasters and presenters.
Most notably, David Croft and lead analyst Martin Brundle share maximum TV time.
Sky has a deal that runs till 2029 before Netflix can potentially swoop in and claim broadcast rights for the sport.
Sky told PlanetF1.com that they didn’t intend to sack anyone, unlike last season when Paul di Resta and Johnny Herbert were let go of.
Instead, a new name will join the ranks, but Sky didn’t want to confirm just yet who it is.
Croft is likely to lead the commentary team along with Brundle while Simon Lazenby will be the main lead presenter trackside.
They will be duly assisted by the likes of Jenson Button, who will also compete in WEC this season, Nico Rosberg, Naomi Schiff, Anthony Davidson, Damon Hill, Karun Chandhok, Patrick and Bernie Collins.
Meanwhile, presenters Natalie Pinkham, Rachel Brookes, Ted Kravitz, and Craig Slater will all continue to serve the same roles as last season.
While F1 may not have been as action-packed as fans had hoped for, Max Verstappen’s record-breaking season did still rope in sizeable viewing numbers.
F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali said a combined 1.54 billion people watched Max Verstappen’s surge to his second world championship and the numbers are in a similar range last season too.
“Cumulative TV audiences for the 2022 season was 1.54 billion and average viewership for races was 70 million,” Domenicali said.
“US viewership was up 36% compared to 2021, with an average of 1.2 million viewers tuning in on race days. Looking at some other markets, Italy viewership grew 22%, Australia was up 20% and Germany viewership grew 9%.”