The strip-mining of the BBC's F1 presenting assets for 2012 has begun in earnest, with lead commentator Martin Brundle confirming that he will switch to Sky Sports for their full 20-race coverage of the Formula One season.
Brundle was widely expected to follow the full 20-race rights to Sky, after the pay TV broadcaster secured the rights to broadcast the full F1 season from 2012 to 2018.The BBC's coverage will consist of 10 live races, with the rest of the season shown as tape-delayed highlights.
And Brundle confirmed his move in his column for the Sunday Times, saying that his desire to commentate on the full season was his primary motivation.
"In 2012 I will be working with Sky Sports F1 television," Brundle wrote awkwardly in today's column for the newspaper.
"The fact that their newly-announced and dedicated F1 channel will have no in-race advertising was a key factor, but most importantly I need to commentate on every race live.
"Recorded and delayed sports television doesn't give me the adrenalin fix I crave."
He added that he was also looking forward to extra time for pre-race features, saying: "There will also be more airtime for the technical features I so enjoy crafting.
"It's been a privilege to be part of the BBC team, but now I have a new motivation and challenge."
Sky confirmed on Friday that their 2012 coverage would be broadcast on a dedicated Sky Sports F1 channel, away from their current sports services.
Brundle moved to the BBC when the broadcaster reclaimed the rights to F1 from ITV in 2009. Prior to that, he had worked with ITV from 1997, as co-commentator.
He moved over to become lead commentator for 2011 alongside David Coulthard, after the BBC dropped the unpopular Jonathan Legard.
Brundle had long been linked with a switch to Sky for next season, and is expected to return to a role as co-commentator alongside current BBC radio commentator David Croft.
Sky have also been linked with moves for the BBC's McLaren pit garage reporter Ted Kravitz, while former ITV F1 presenter Steve Rider has been linked with some presenting duties for the new channel.
It is not clear who the BBC will now target as their replacement commentator, though they did confirm on Friday that they would be sending a team to every race next year, even if they are not showing it live.
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