Ben Edwards (born 14 July 1965) is a British

motor racing Motorsport, motorsports or motor sport is a global term used to encompass the group of competitive sporting events which primarily involve the use of motorized vehicles. The terminology can also be used to describe forms of competition of tw ...

commentator employed by

Formula One Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship ...

, and formerly employed by Channel 4. In the past, he has voiced television coverage of

, Superleague Formula and the British Touring Car Championship, in addition to

DVD Reviews for Duke Video. After spending well over a decade working for networks including

Eurosport Eurosport is a group of pay television networks in Europe and parts of Asia. Owned by Warner Bros. Discovery through its international sports unit, it operates two main channels— Eurosport 1 and Eurosport 2—across most of its territorie ...

ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...

, ITV and

F1 Digital + F1 Digital+ (also known as just F1 Digital) was the name of the enhanced world feed package for Formula One coverage that existed from 1996 to 2002. The service offered additional features to the standard, single analogue television feed of th ...

, he was named the BBC's lead TV commentator on its Formula One coverage from 2012 in December 2011. He is known for his enthusiastic and energetic commentary style. In 2022 Edwards is one of the commentators for F1TV’s Formula One racing coverage.

Career

Starting out

Brought up in Surrey, Edwards first started out in motorsport as a

mechanic A mechanic is an artisan, skilled tradesperson, or technician who uses tools to build, maintain, or repair machinery, especially cars. Duties Most mechanics specialize in a particular field, such as auto body mechanics, air conditioning and ...

for Formula Ford teams in 1982, before beginning a career as a racing driver. He won the first Formula First championship, a now defunct championship for new drivers, and went to become champion in Caterham- Vauxhall sports cars. He also took part in the Euro Vauxhall Lotus championship where he raced against the likes of David Coulthard, who is now his co-commentator, and Mika Häkkinen. He first started commentating after enjoying his experience teaching racing at

Brands Hatch Brands Hatch is a motor racing circuit in West Kingsdown, Kent, England, United Kingdom. Originally used as a grasstrack motorcycle circuit on farmland, it hosted 12 runnings of the British Grand Prix between 1964 and 1986 and currently hos ...

and Snetterton. His first commentary position was for the BBC with Tiff Needell, but he became known to British viewers through his

commentary on

. He was usually partnered with former Formula One race winner John Watson.

Champ Car

When Eurosport lost the rights to Formula One at the end of 1996, Edwards became the voice of

Champ Car Champ Car World Series (CCWS) was the series sanctioned by Open-Wheel Racing Series Inc., or Champ Car, a sanctioning body for American open-wheel car racing that operated from 2004 to 2008. It was the successor to Championship Auto Racing Team ...

racing for viewers of Eurosport and

International, also carried by Channel 5. His work alongside Jeremy Shaw was regarded as a big success. Perhaps his most famous moment was his commentary of the final lap of the 2000 Michigan 500 which was so dramatic that French Eurosport used his commentary in their highlights of that race. Although Edwards was very popular with the viewers, he gradually became tired of commuting from Britain to the United States for every race. He considered moving permanently to the United States. He eventually decided to remain in England, and reduce his involvement in America. In 2001, Edwards was replaced by Guy Hobbs as the main Champ Car commentator, but he did commentate for the races in Japan, Detroit, Mid-Ohio, Germany, Houston and Australia when Hobbs had other commitments, and at the Rockingham Motor Speedway race.

Return to England

In 2002, Edwards joined ITV to commentate on the British Touring Car Championship. He also took on the role of lead commentator for

, and was reunited with his old colleague, John Watson. F1 Digital + finished at the end of the 2002 season, but since 2005 Watson and Edwards have been working together on Sky Sports and the international feed for A1 Grand Prix. On occasions when British Touring Car Championship and A1 Grand Prix races clashed, he was replaced on ITV by John Hindhaugh. Edwards has also commentated on other motorsport events for Eurosport and British TV, including coverage of the British Formula Three Championship (alongside Martin Haven), and the Superleague Formula series.

BBC F1

On 13 December 2011, it was confirmed that Edwards would replace Martin Brundle as the BBC's lead commentator for Formula One in 2012, working alongside David Coulthard.

Toby Moody Toby Moody is a British sports commentator focused on motor racing. He was for many years the worldwide voice of the MotoGP series on Eurosport TV, and in 2012, lead commentator on the British Touring Car Championship for ITV4. In 2014 he will com ...

took Edwards' place for the BTCC in 2012. Edwards worked across BBC TV, Radio and online. Edwards made a one-off return to the BBC in 2021 for the 2021 Spanish Grand Prix, commentating on BBC Radio 5 Live, filling in for Jack Nicholls. He also replaced Nicholls for the 2021 French Grand Prix.

Channel 4 F1

In 2016, Edwards moved to

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...

to continue commentating on Formula 1, again working alongside David Coulthard. The move came after the BBC terminated its TV rights agreement early, and Channel 4 picked the deal up. Edwards stepped down from his commentary role at

after the conclusion of the 2020 season. He was succeeded by Alex Jacques. However he subsequently filled in for Jacques at the 2021 Styrian Grand Prix and 2021 Austrian Grand Prix (Qualifying Only) when Jacques had to self-isolate after fellow member of the commentary team

Billy Monger Billy Monger (born 5 May 1999) is a British racing driver who raced in British F4 in 2016 and 2017. He is now also a commentator/pundit and TV personality. He is also referred to by the nickname ''Billy Whizz''. after the character in British ...

tested positive for

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quickl ...

F1TV

In 2022, Edwards rejoined the Formula One Media team at its Biggin Hill headquarters to lead the commentary for F1TV's worldwide output. In this role, he will commentate along former Formula One driver Jolyon Palmer.

Personal life

Edwards, with his wife Belinda, runs Entreprix Ltd., a "motorsports specialist" company. Founded in 1987, the company has managed numerous motorsport championships, the most recent being the British GT Championship from 2003 to 2005. He currently resides in Wortham, Suffolk.

Racing record

Complete British Saloon Car Championship results

( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position – 1980–1990 in class) (Races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap – 1 point awarded ?–1989 in class)

References

External links

Biography of Ben Edwards on Entreprix's website

Ben Edwards commentates the final laps of the 2000 Michigan 500 on YouTube
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Edwards, Ben 1965 births Motorsport announcers Living people British Touring Car Championship drivers British racing drivers BBC sports presenters and reporters