Being in the right place at the right time couldn’t have been more appropriate when NBC Sports Group announcers Leigh Diffey and David Hobbs took part in a Wednesday morning teleconference from Monaco.
Let’s let Diffey, who will handle play-by-play duties on Sunday’s telecast, tell the story of a very busy Wednesday morning in preparation for Sunday’s Formula One Monaco Grand Prix:
“(There’s been an) amazing buzz here today. We’ve been waiting for it for a very long time. The now two-time World Champion Lewis Hamilton has finally signed a contract to stay at Mercedes Benz AMG. He’s done a three-year deal in excess of $100 million. Literally, the call just came from the drivers press conference.
“Lewis, in kind of Hollywood style, walked in with a big gold necklace and gold sunglasses. I guess (he) looked like somebody who signed a more than $100 million contract. It was so fitting to have that announcement here in the place where he lives, just the pizazz that surrounds Lewis Hamilton now. That’s one of the many story lines we’ll be bringing you this weekend.
“Obviously the overwhelming one is his rivalry with his teammate Nico Rosberg who happens to live in the same building as he does here in Monaco. Of course, Nico has his own story going with three wins. Without going on too long, there’s a lot of excitement that’s so fitting for it all to be happening here in Monaco.”
This is the third year that NBC will televise the Monaco Grand Prix live. Viewership of NBC Sports Group’s coverage of F1 is up nearly 10 percent thus far this season.
NBC Sports Group motorsports producer Rich O’Connor spoke about how special both televising the event – as well as its unique location – has been for both the network and himself.
“I’ve been involved with various forms of motorsports for over 15 years now,” O’Connor said. “(I) have worked the Daytona 500, the Indianapolis 500. This is my third Monaco Grand Prix.
“I remember walking away from the first one we did a couple of years ago. It’s just one of those events that truly lives up to all the hype that goes into it. It’s an amazing scene over here.
“It goes on for four plus days. It’s just an incredible event. We’re pleased to be a part of it. What we try and do is we try and give as much sense of place to the telecast, tell the story of the race, because it truly is a very special event.
“When you walk around the streets here, walk a lap, it’s pretty incredible what this sport has done on the streets of this small city for a very long time. The history goes on and we’re proud to be a part of it.”
Sunday is the biggest day in racing in the world each year. It starts with the Grand Prix, then the Indianapolis 500 and ends with NASCAR’s Coca-Cola 600.
NBC Sports Group F1 Analyst and David Hobbs truly particularly appreciates the history of the Grand Prix.
“Obviously the racing itself here is quite extraordinary,” Hobbs said. “This track was first raced on in 1929, then after the war in 1950 when the modern day Grand Prix started, they started here, and they’ve had one ever since.
“The track is pretty much (the) identical layout to what it was back in 1929. They modified it a bit 20 years ago to go around the new swimming pool. But other than that it’s exactly the same.”
This race also brings out not just the average F1 fan, but the well-heeled as well.
“I went to a luncheon at the new yacht club today,” Hobbs said. “British Racing Drivers Club had a luncheon there. As I walked back, there’s a row of boats, every one of which must be worth at least $50 million. Just seeing the supplies delivered to those boats for the weekend is quite extraordinary.
“Boxes and boxes of Moet Chandon champagne, all the best drink in the world you can buy. This is one of the few tracks, all these people, they can sit on their boat. And if they’re on the tail end of their boat, they are literally 30 feet from the track, one of the fastest parts of the track. … The big question on everyone’s lips is can Nico Rosberg be one of the drivers to win this race three times in a row.”
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