Mark Wilkin – Executive Producer, BBC Formula 1
In terms of the amount of airtime we have for the British Grand Prix, it’s very similar to that of all the other races. However, we do try and make special films that take better note of the British drivers, because we don’t only focus on them throughout the year, but coming to the British Grand Prix it’s the one they all want to win and we want to be part of that story. We generally ensure we have a feature with Lewis and with Jenson. For this year, we have made a film with Lewis driving with Stirling Moss at Monza, made specifically to be shown this Sunday. That was terrific and we interviewed them talking about what it’s like racing in front of your home crowd. We also filmed a special with Valtteri Bottas, that was shot a long time ago in Lapland, with him driving on a replica of Silverstone circuit cut into the ice. It’s a nice feature specially planned for here. You also need references that are timely, relating to the driver’s season so far and you can’t film those in advance so we also spoke to Lewis and Jenson on Thursday.
We try to give the show a bit more life, the feel of being in the paddock and bumping into people like Nigel Mansell and let’s not forget the other British driver in the race, Will Stevens.
As for the audience figures, actually they can be quite dependent on the weather: if it’s a beautiful sunny day, the great British public go out and enjoy the sunshine. They come back in and watch the race on their recording devices. It also depends what other events it clashes with and it usually clashes with Wimbledon and we’ve also had clashes with the Glastonbury Festival and the World Cup. We have to find our place within the airwaves, but the audience is strong and usually a little bit higher than for the other European races.
