Written by Maria Fashchevskaya, Edited by Meghana Sree
Being fans of Formula One, if not for watching it on television, we would not get the kind of insights into the sport as easily as we do. It is thanks to some special people we can do that: presenters and commentators! Let’s have a look at six F1 journalists from around the globe.
Nicole Briscoe – ESPN
Nicole Briscoe is a SportsCenter anchor and studio host for ESPN’s motorsport coverage, including F1 and NASCAR races. She started working in motorsport journalism covering NASCAR Now starting in 2008 till 2014, and by hosting the pre-race NASCAR Countdown program between 2011 and 2014.
In 2018 she also hosted for the ABC telecast of the Indianapolis 500 of Indycar. She is married to Ryan Briscoe who was a racing driver in Indycar till 2015 and nowadays competes in sports car racing.
Recently, she has announced her move to Fox Sports, becoming the new network host for the IndyCar series on Fox.
Andreas Groebl – Servus TV (Austria)
Andreas Groebl is a motorsport commentator for the Austrian broadcaster ServusTV. Before starting his career, he studied business education at the Vienna University of Economics and Business.
Groebl launched his sports journalism career in 1997, working as a commentator, presenter and contributor in the sports editorial department at the Austrian Broadcasting Corporation (ORF) till 2004. His focus has been on the motorsport coverage for Austrian TV, producing interviews and reports from the pit lane.
Afterwards, he was a sports commentator for Tele 5 in Austria. Starting in February 2006, Groebl was editor-in-chief of The Red Bulletin magazine for one and a half years and wrote guest columns on motorsport-related topics for Die Presse. He continued his career at Premiere/Sky Deutschland from 2004 till 2007, and worked simultaneously for ATV in the same role till 2012.
Groebl has been commentating and presenting since 2009. He hosts the format “Sport und Talk aus dem Hangar.”
Mariana Becker – Rede Bandeirantes (Brazil)
Mariana Becker is a sports journalist and television reporter for Rede Bandeirantes, a Brazilian television network. She started her career in writing and journalism by writing articles about women she found interesting at the age of 17. Afterwards, she enrolled at the Faculty of Social Communications at Pontifical Catholic University of Rio Grande do Sul, where she studied Sociology, and attended radio journalism and semiotic classes.
After graduation she was employed by Rede Globo, although she found the environment to be unwelcoming, as at that time 95 % of the the sport newsroom department’s roles were occupied by men. Nevertheless, she covered association football, water sports and extreme sports there, including Formula One from 2007 onwards.
As the F1 coverage traveled to Rede Bandeirantes in 2021, she switched her employer for the 2021 season. Her role has expanded with coverage of behind-the-scenes looks at the paddock and in the teams garages.
Peter Hardenacke – Sky Sports Germany
Peter Hardenacke is a sports journalist and presenter for Sky Sports Germany. He studied media and communications at the German Sport-University in Cologne, and went directly to Sky Germany in Munich.
Hardenacke started his career as an editor and reporter in 2004 at Sky and remained there until 2009, learning the craft of being a sports journalist. Afterwards, he switched to another German TV broadcaster, Pro7Sat.1 Media, to fulfill the same role.
In 2011 he went back to Sky and has remained there as a reporter, presenter and editor since. He first came to motorsport coverage as a substitute presenter for colleague Sandra Baumgartner at the Monaco Grand Prix in 2019, and afterwards in Montreal at the Canadian Grand Prix.
Although Baumgartner returned to broadcasting F1 for the race at Le Castellet in France, Hardenacke had left a lasting impression. His talent for covering F1 secured him a permanent place as a presenter and reporter.
Julien Fébreau – Canal+
Julien Fébreau is a French sports journalist, and has been the official F1 commentator on the French TV-channel Canal+ since 2013. He spent some time of his childhood near the Lohéac circuit, watching rallycross races with his father who was a racing driver. This way, motorsports became a passion of Fébreau.
In 2001 he started his journey in journalism by getting a baccalaureate in communication, and in 2003 he graduated with a degree in journalism.
Fébreau started commentating on F1 in 2005 for the RMC channel. He left the channel in 2009 for Europe 1, fulfilling the same role, as the French F1 broadcast was taken over by them. At the end of 2012 Canal+ received the broadcasting rights for F1 in the region. This led Fébreau to Canal+ and he has remained there since, being a commentator alongside Jacques Villeneuve.
One of his famous phrases at the start of any Grand Prix is "Turn up the volume and see you at the first corner."
Giselle Zarur – Fox Deportes (Spanish speaking-channel in the USA)
Giselle Zarur is a Mexican sports journalist and television reporter for Fox Deportes. She subsequently hosts the Formula Latina Podcast. She has covered many sports such as the Liga MX football league and tennis, however, her focus remains on motorsport — especially F1 and NASCAR.
Zarur graduated from the Centro de Estudios en Ciencias de la Comunicación in Mexico, and began her broadcasting career in 2010 at the media company Televisa. She gathered the most recognition for her expertise in motor racing and F1, reporting the whole season at the start of her career.
Moreover, she covered F1 for Canal F1 Latin America, the network’s official Latin American broadcast station, doing her final coverage for the channel at the 2017 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
In October 2018 she left Televista and moved to Los Angeles to work for the Spanish-language Fox Deportes. There she has continued reporting on F1 since July 2019. She presents the channel’s weekly broadcast of the Mexican football league and works in all kinds of coverage activities across motor racing.
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