Sky Sports F1 hero Ted Kravitz says he’d have been a pilot if not for motorsport

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    Ted Kravitz could've been whisking the likes of Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen across the world had a career in F1 broadcasting not worked out.

    While Kravitz is best known to us as the cheeky expert for all things F1 on Sky Sports, the 49-year-old cult hero originally had sky high ambitions to become a pilot. Kravitz revealed his original dream to us during a wide-ranging chat, where he also discussed his original route into motorsport and his continued love of all things aviation.

    "I never expected to be in F1," Sky Sports F1 expert Kravitz said in an exclusive chat with Daily Star Sport, something that may come as a surprise to most given his extensive knowledge of the sport.

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    "Growing up I always wanted to be a pilot. I got into F1 watching Nigel Mansell as a kid. He switched me on to it. I started out life as a news and sports reporter on the radio. I moved sideways into the sport I love. It’s kind of like 'what happened to that ambition to be a pilot, where’s that gone?'"

    While Kravitz now has his own show on Sky Sports and forms an important part of the channel's coverage, he began life in the sport behind the scenes.

    What's your favourite Ted Kravitz moment? Let us know in the comments section below

    He started work as a producer on ITV's coverage of F1 in 1997, before becoming a pit lane reporter in 2002. Kravitz has continued that role ever since, working for ITV, BBC and now Sky Sports.

    Yet a boy never loses his dreams, and Kravitz, who holds a pilot's license, admits he still gets to the airport early to watch the great mechanical birds take to the skies.

    "I’ll still get to the airport early now and again and gaze out of the window at these amazing planes. I’ve always loved engineering and I suppose they go hand in hand really. It’s fascinating to me looking at an Airbus A380 double decker plane and thinking how it can fly."

    Thankfully for F1 fans, Kravitz has no plans to swap the starting grid for the runway, with his Notebook show and pit-lane reporting as popular as ever.

    The motorsport expert continued by talking about the success of his popular Notebook programme and why the specific format of the show only seems to work in F1.

    "We’re lucky in F1 that we’ve got this crucible of activity that is the paddock and the pit lane, and I can choose where to be," he says.

    "It just lends itself to this because you’ve got the paddock where all the 20 drivers are going to be walking along, you’ve got the team bosses, the mechanics and the fans.

    "Look at the Notebook we did after Max won the title in Japan. They’re all on the main straight setting up for the championship photo, and I wouldn’t ordinarily do it on the main start finish straight, but that’s where the action is.

    "I think the reason you probably don’t see it in other sports is because no other sport really lends itself to getting in amongst it and pointing a camera where the back of the garage is and showing you stuff where people would like to get a look in.

    "It’s a privileged position we’re in and I see it as bringing my viewers down into that position and bringing them into the paddock. We are privileged to be in that place, so it’s just an opportunity for them to see behind the scenes.

    "I don’t expect people to listen, understand or digest every word I’m saying. It’s a lot to listen to the same bloke droning on for half an hour, but there’s enough that the camera can pick up to recompense.

    "That’s what I like about it. It’s like a personal challenge. Even if it’s not been the most thrilling race, I can try and find something that's interesting to develop people’s understanding of what happened."

    Watch all 23 races of the 2023 F1 season, including the Azerbaijian Grand Prix, exclusively live on Sky Sports F1 and NOW

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