Latest news with #DavidCroft
Yahoo
17 hours ago
- Automotive
- Yahoo
F1 Expert Issues Crucial Warning Amid Lewis Hamilton Retirement Buzz
F1 Expert Issues Crucial Warning Amid Lewis Hamilton Retirement Buzz originally appeared on Athlon Sports. As speculation continues to swirl around Lewis Hamilton's future in Formula 1, Sky Sports commentator David Croft has stepped in with a strong statement and a warning. Advertisement 'Lewis will be around next year. He's not going anywhere,' Croft firmly said on the Sky F1 Show, addressing recent retirement chatter. While fans and experts alike have raised eyebrows at Hamilton's recent form, Croft insists it's too soon to write off the seven-time world champion. Hamilton's switch to Ferrari has yet to deliver the fireworks some expected. Despite flashes of brilliance, most notably in the Chinese Grand Prix sprint, where he looked 'an absolute world-beater,' according to Croft recent performances have left many wanting more. At the Spanish Grand Prix, Hamilton struggled for race pace. Croft added that Ferrari acknowledged an unspecified issue with Hamilton's car during the final phase in Barcelona, which may have contributed to his drop-off. 'If there was something fundamentally wrong with the car, then that offers a morale boost to Lewis,' he said. Lewis Hamilton during previews ahead of the Monaco the pressure is mounting. Advertisement Croft believes the Canadian Grand Prix could be a pivotal moment in Hamilton's season. 'Canada is a place he loves. This is Lewis Hamilton's track. If he has another down day like he did in Barcelona, then there's issues,' he warned. 'But look, if anyone can turn it around, it's Lewis.' With the eyes of the F1 world now turning toward Montreal, the spotlight on Hamilton has never been more intense. Retirement may be trending, but according to Croft, Lewis is far from finished. Related: Lewis Hamilton Sends Clear Message to Ferrari After Disappointing Spanish GP This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 7, 2025, where it first appeared.
News.com.au
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- News.com.au
Sky Sports UK lead F1 commentator David Croft predicts Oscar Piastri will win this year's world championship
The voice of Formula 1 has doubled-down on his early-season prediction Oscar Piastri will win this year's world title, declaring the Australian star 'looks like a champion'. Breaking down the championship battle between Piastri and his McLaren teammate Lando Norris after the Spanish Grand Prix, Sky Sports F1 commentator David Croft was confident the Melbourne-born ace had a maiden crown 'coming this way' this year. – his fifth from the opening nine races of the season. Hailing Piastri's 'cool and calm' presence on track that the F1 world has been raving about, Croft said his view the 24-year-old would take out this year's title had only strengthened. 'I have not flip-flopped at all … after the first race, I'm tipping Oscar Piastri to win the world title,' Croft said on the Sky Sports F1 podcast, The F1 Show. 'The fact that Karun (Chandhok) and I were on stage in Australia at the time has no bearing on that prediction whatsoever. 'He looks like a champion - and he has looked like a champion for a while. A champion in the making and I think this is the year that it is coming his way, I really do.' Piastri has continued to earn plaudits from across the F1 world for his calm demeanour and composure under pressure. Croft said Piastri had the ability to handle whatever was thrown at him and described him as the 'exact opposite' of Max Verstappen, who drew headlines in Barcelona after his run-in with George Russell which cost him a 10-second penalty and the loss of three penalty points. 'The beautiful thing, I think, about Oscar Piastri this season is his ability to cope with whatever comes his way,' Croft said. 'We know he doesn't get flustered. He's the exact opposite of Max on the track. 'The resting heart beat I think is about eight beats per minute from start to finish during the race. He is just so cool and so calm. 'Everything that gets thrown at him, he copes with magnificently.' Croft said the move from Norris to pick up a tow behind Piastri in qualifying indicated he was 'worried' his teammate had an edge over him over one lap. 'Just a little thing about that first run of Lando's. He picked up a little cheeky tow behind Oscar as he was on his out lap and he followed him all around the final corner,' Croft said. 'Now if I'm Oscar Piastri and I'm being told, 'Oh yeah, by the way, Lando got a tow and he's on provisional pole' and I think, 'Cheeky' was the reply. 'I'm thinking to myself, 'He's worried here. He's worried that I'm going to go out and deliver a lap that he can't replicate. And the reason I know he's worried is because he is trying to pick up a tow already behind me'. 'Fair play to Lando for doing that but the fact is you've got one more run to come and Oscar knows that his teammate is under pressure and the one guy that is going to deny him pole is under pressure to the extent that he need to get a tow behind me so that just eases your pressure a little bit and then he goes out and delivers that lap. 'You use everything to your advantage in life and he certainly did that on Saturday.' Highlighting the 'mental game' required in qualifying, fellow Sky Sports F1 expert Karun Chandhok said Piastri showed he had 'ice in his veins' in the crunch moments. 'At that stage, the cars are the same. They have spent the whole time dialling in the set-up and at that point, the engineers can't do anymore, the mechanics can't do anymore. It's about the drivers mentally putting it on the line and delivering the lap,' Chandhok said. 'They (Piastri and Norris) are both equally talented and the skill is there. It's having the mental strength to deliver that lap under pressure. 'Lando overdrove, didn't he? He made a few little errors. He went a bit wide in a couple of places and Oscar delivered it. 'You have to say that he's got ice in his veins, doesn't he, Oscar? He doesn't flap.'
The Sun
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Sun
Lewis Hamilton apologises to Sky Sports presenter after tense interview that saw F1 star on verge of tears
LEWIS HAMILTON has apologised to a Sky Sports presenter after being left on the verge of tears during a tense interview. The shocking moment came after Hamilton blamed himself for a 'terrible' performance at the Spanish Grand Prix. 3 3 The Ferrari star finished sixth in Barcelona, with Oscar Piastri coming first, and remains winless for his new side. After the race, Hamilton was interviewed by Sky Sports presenter Rachel Brookes. And the seven-time world champion appeared close to tears when asked if there was 'something wrong' with Ferrari's car. He said: 'Not particularly, it was not a great day. The strategy was good, the team did a great job. That's it.' Noting Hamilton's downcast mood, Brookes replied: 'I hate seeing you in this mood.' But the Brit snapped back with watery eyes: 'Well what do you want me to say? I had a really bad day and I've got nothing to say. 'It was a difficult day, I've got nothing else to add to it. There's no point explaining it. 'It's not your fault, I've just not got anything to say. I'm sure (Ferrari) won't (be able to find a fix), the answer is probably just me.' However, Hamilton has now apologised to Brookes for his tense replies in the interview. Her fellow Sky Sports star David Croft revealed all on The Fast and The Curious podcast. He said: 'Lewis was really down on himself, and no one likes to see that because at the end of the day, whether you're a fan or not, Lewis Hamilton is the greatest racing driver we've ever seen. 'Statistically, he is the greatest. I think he's the greatest even without the stats. 'He wears his heart on his sleeve and should be applauded for that because it does a lot of good when he wears his heart on his sleeve. 'He did apologise to Rachel Brookes for being so down in the dumps off camera. He said, 'I'm really sorry about that, I'm just so down'. 'And that just shows the extent that he really was down. He's not putting this on for the cameras, trust me. 'And once again, it's right after the race. He's not had time for a debrief. He's not had time to have a chat with his race engineer. 'So he probably didn't know the extent of whatever damage the car had at the time he spoke to Rachel. 'And he probably didn't realise that it was the car that was hindering him more so than his driving in that one. 'And look, when you're in a Ferrari and you're overtaken by Nico Hulkenberg, albeit in a Ferrari-powered Sauber, you're going to question, 'Is it me really? Am I doing something wrong here?' 'Because it just didn't go for him really from the outset.' 3
Entrepreneur
23-05-2025
- Health
- Entrepreneur
Focus on Your Health — or Your Startup Won't Survive
There is no KPI in your startup worth sacrificing your health over. An important lesson for founders of how, when health fails, everything can come crashing like a house of cards. Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own. In 2006, just two years into my banking career, my mentor David Croft told me, "Pace yourself. You don't want a nervous breakdown or burnout later down the road." I was just 24 then. I smiled and thought, "I don't do burnouts." Ten years later, as a 34-year-old entrepreneur, I regretted not listening. You might think that regular runs or occasional gym visits are enough to safeguard your health. But if you're an entrepreneur, think again. Building a startup places extraordinary emotional and psychological demands on your body — demands that a jog won't erase. The fractures accumulate and emotional stresses somatize into your body. My reckoning came in August 2016. I had just returned from a holiday in the Maldives — supposedly a break to recharge. Our startup had entered a "stable" phase: revenues exceeded costs, and we had launched a new social trading tool. Each time the platform fired off a winning recommendation, users made money and celebrated — rewarding our brains with dopamine. When trades failed, cortisol, adrenaline and norepinephrine kicked in, creating that familiar gut-wrenching stress response. This chemical rollercoaster was constant. Add to that the pressure of scaling and debugging, and I had unknowingly built a storm inside my nervous system. This was the trigger event, but such events had pockmarked my journey since I started working in 2005. One morning, I woke up with a strange sensation. Every breath felt inadequate. That feeling followed me all day. Days turned into weeks, fear creeping in. Related: Want to Transform Your Life and Business? This Expert Says You Need to Start Prioritizing Your Health. Was it anxiety? No. This was something more insidious. Three weeks into the ordeal, I cancelled dinner plans and tried to sleep it off. But even lying down, I felt short of breath. Then my heart began racing, palpably irregular. I panicked. This has to be a heart attack. I rushed to a private hospital, but ultimately, they sent me home, calling it a panic attack. It wasn't. That night, my heart jolted awake every time I tried to fall asleep. Adrenaline surged involuntarily. My body was exhausted, but I couldn't rest. By morning, I felt zombified. Eating triggered inflammation. Breathing, sleeping, walking — even speaking — had become luxuries. Five minutes of walking brought chest tightness. I was a prisoner in my own body. This situation lasted for a month before I threw in the towel. I handed over operations to my COO and flew back to Germany in November 2016, seeking help. My childhood physician ran a battery of tests; I saw specialists in neurology, pulmonology, cardiology, endocrinology — everything came back normal. The truth, I later realized, was simpler: I had neglected my health for a decade. My nervous system was overwhelmed. This was the cost of relentless ambition. I had crossed a line. So, I did what I'd always done — I internalized it. I accepted it stoically, adapted and returned to partial functionality. Breathing remained difficult. I had food intolerances, sleep disturbances — yet I pushed on as the business grew more complex. The root cause, though, remained elusive until 2022. That year, as we emerged from the pandemic, a new symptom flared up. I met a rheumatologist and they told me my body was permanently stuck in fight-or-flight mode. It hit me. Years of stress had rewired my system. My body couldn't distinguish minor stressors from existential threats. Even food or mild exercise would trigger inflammation. My nervous system had become hypersensitive. Understanding the root cause changed everything. That week, my breathing improved measurably — for the first time in six years. It was far from perfect, but I felt human again. I simplified my diet, increased workouts from twice a week to four, then six. Over the next three years, I prioritized physical rigor to balance my nervous system. Stress from work still came, but the cortisol was burned off consistently. Slowly, the symptoms faded. For any entrepreneur on this path, here's what I've learned. Related: Why Personal Health and Wellness Are Key to Business Longevity 1. Your body holds onto stress — find a way to release it Rejection, investor setbacks, staff departures — each one takes a toll. You absorb them, even alchemize them for success. Over time, however, emotional debt gets embroidered into your body's cellular fabric. Chronic stress accumulates, eventually manifesting physically. Ignore it long enough, and it can break you. Even if you may be functioning on the face of it, your body keeps count, and if you do not find active ways to de-stress, eventually you may not be able to show up for your mission any longer. Invest time in an outside hobby unrelated to your startup. This may be consistent exercise (two or three times a week will not cut it), or other activities such as meditation, yoga, writing, exploration and travelling, or anything that allows you to unplug. A hobby, ideally, should not include screen time, as you are then a few clicks away from checking a stressful email, related to work. 2. View diet as medicine Entrepreneurship often comes with terrible nutrition habits. Alcohol, cigarettes, energy drinks, junk food — it's common, but lethal over time. These habits don't just affect your waistline; they damage your DNA and brain chemistry. I never drank or smoked — it clashes with my fitness and martial arts routine — but I still paid the price through improper diet and stress. Strive to eat clean 70–80% of the time. Cheat meals are fine, but don't let comfort foods become a lifestyle. It's a slippery slope as your body can handle the barrage of delicious insults while you're young, but is less efficient at metabolizing it later. 4. Health improvements can translate to better business performance I began training just to breathe again. Now, I set fitness KPIs every year — track strength, endurance, flexibility. That mindset carries over. Whether you're crushing a 150kg deadlift or running a 10K non-stop, your confidence to tackle business crises increases, on the margin. Look at Zuckerberg: from hoodie-wearing coder to legit MMA beast. Physical power feeds mental resilience. Mental resilience feeds physical power. The symbiosis is real. 5. Don't expect closure solely from doctors You might get normal test results, but still feel awful. The more you test, the more coincidental findings you may unearth that, in turn, may trigger anxiety spirals. Don't obsess over rare illnesses or spiral into self-diagnosis. The likelihood that your body succumbed to an illness yet to be discovered by the medical community is low. It's more likely that your nervous system is the culprit. Focus on healing: simplify your life, reduce triggers, eat better and move more. Your body knows how to recover — just give it space. Related: How to Optimize Your Personal Health and Well-Being in 2025 — A Guide for Entrepreneurs Conclusion: Become you 2.0 You can iterate your startup. You can pivot your business. So why not do the same for yourself? Entrepreneurship doesn't just test your ideas — it tests your biology. Without self-awareness and health consciousness, your success may come at a devastating cost. Listen to your body. Pace yourself. And build the most important startup of all: you.
The Independent
16-05-2025
- Sport
- The Independent
Who is Harry Benjamin? Sky F1 make commentator change for Emilia Romagna Grand Prix
Sky Sports F1 's lead commentator David Croft will miss three races this season – in an identical schedule to last year – with BBC Radio 5 Live commentator Harry Benjamin to replace him this weekend at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix. Croft has been Sky's lead commentator since the broadcaster obtained the UK rights to Formula 1 from the BBC in 2012 and, prior to 2024, had not missed a race in that 11-year period. But having missed Imola, Austria and Azerbaijan in 2024, 'Crofty' will again miss the same three races in 2025. Benjamin, an F1 broadcaster who, as well as 5 Live, also worked on Sky's coverage of F1 Juniors in 2023, will replace Croft at Imola this weekend, Austria in June and Azerbaijan in September. Speaking to The Independent in 2024 about missing races for the first time in over a decade, Croft said: 'It's more about keeping fresh for the whole season. I'm not getting any younger. 'I've given up and sacrificed a lot for my career. I want to give a bit of time back to my family and not be on the other side of the world. 'But I also want to sit and watch a race at home. I want to enjoy it. Maybe I can learn something by not commentating on a race. 'I can spot a few things when I'm watching – I want to see what the viewer sees.' Prior to his work at Sky, the 53-year-old Croft was 5 Live's commentator from 2006-2011, only missing one race – the 2007 European Grand Prix – in that period for the birth of his son. He has covered more than 350 races during his career.
